Partners in Fire
by HavocHound
Summary: (On Hiatus Until Jan or Feb) For over six years, Marshall has always wondered where he came from. He has no memory of his past or who he belonged to before he was found by Ryder. That is until he met a human who claims to be his original owner and the one who might hold the key to his past. However, such a happy reunion will have to await as destiny calls for Marshall...
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: Here it is folks. The revision of Farewell Marshall. Under a new name. A new direction. But still hopefully in the same spirit. Now, for the first few chapters we're going to be building up the life of Marshall and Travis (I kept the human name) before they interact with each other and we see the big main difference between this fic and the old one. Now, I won't try to make it obvious what it is that Travis and Marshall are meant to do in this fic, like I said it will have the same emotional train I had planned, but also action.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I Don't Own Paw Patrol**_.

* * *

A train whistle blew as it began to rush out of the mountain tunnel and headed towards a nearby port city known as Costal; the last stop for this particular travel. Costal City was well known for its sea resort, fishing imports, boat expositions, and some of the most beautiful beaches in America. For one young teenager who was seventeen it was like looking at an old friend after years of seperation. He had long black hair which often made people wonder if he was some rock star, but he couldn't play an instrument to save his life. He wore a black jacket with blue flames on the back along with black pants and sneakers. It was a bit interesting to note that despite his look, you would never paint him for a rich or well educated kid. But he was, and now it was time for him to put it all into good use.

Travis Lugna sighed upon seeing the city he once called home. It had been years since he saw it, preferring to tour Europe or other parts of America during his summer breaks. Although he had kept in touch with some he knew in the city, he held no desire to live in it until he felt he was ready. He need to train, both physically and mentally for the task he was burdened with. He swore to wait on returning until he felt ready.

And at last he felt like it was time.

The train grew closer as Sirus Island could be seen from the distance, despite being at least five hundred miles away. The island that was said have every type of landscape imaginable from polar ice caps to an actual jungle. It was still debated among scientists' on how such an island can exist, but to this day it remained a mystery.

Travis had only ever visited the island once... and it was the worst memory in his entire life. It was when he lost everything… and vowed to become stronger as a result. He clutched a pendent around his chest that showed a flaming Celtic Trinity. It was more then just a symbol, it was the key to a legacy he had to uphold.

However, he wondered if he could do so without a partner.

 _"_ _We will be arriving in Costal City in about twenty minutes."_

Sighing, Travis picked up his single duffel bag and prepared to move.

* * *

After arriving at the train station, Travis quickly made his way through the crowds and step foot into his home city for the first time in nearly six years. The skyscrapers were not as big as the ones back in NYC, but they were still impressive. The smell of the sea nearby felt very familiar to him, almost nostalgic as it was years since he smelled this sea. A small smile tug his lips as he took a deep breath and breathed it in.

 _Home… I'm finally home…_

"Master Travis!" shouted a voice making the young adult blink.

He turned to the street where a butler with hair as silver as the blade stood in attention. His hair was smoothed back and his small goatee was even pointer then that of a feathered pen. Despite his looks, he was well built and taller then most men despite being dressed as a butler. Travis noticed the goatee and resisted the urge to laugh. "Still haven't gotten rid of that beard, huh Rodrick?"

"You father happened to have liked my beard. He said I looked cool and, as such, I intend to keep it that way," said the butler as he walked forward and shook the young man's hand. The shaking lasted only a few seconds longer until Travis decided to screw proper manners and hug the aged man. "It's been too long, Master Travis."

"Same here, Rodrick," whispered Travis, embracing the man who had been like a second father to him.

After the finished hugging, Rodrick guided the young master to a black sedan where they soon took off down the road. Glancing at the buildings, trying to see what was new or not, Travis asked, "So why Master Travis and not Master Lugna?"

"I assume you wish to keep your identity a secret for now," said Rodrick while he drove on. "The entire city is already buzzing about your arrival. Everyone from the press to the mayor wishes to meet you."

"Tell them I'm not interested," muttered Travis, scoffing. "I'm here because I need to take up my father's mantle. Nothing more."

"Yes, but you do know that the Fire Pup Exposition will be taking place in a few days in town, yes?" asked Rodrick.

Travis sighed, already knowing what Rodrick was hinting at. "I know that already. I know that I need a proper partner to do this… but how can I have another dog when I lost the one I knew I was meant to work with…"

"It's been six years, Master Travis," said Rodrick with a hint of regret in his voice. "There is no point in waiting for the dead. They wait for us."

"I know…" whispered Travis, biting his lip. "Can… Can we go visit them before we head to the mansion?"

"Of course, sir."

And with that the sedan made a U-Turn.

* * *

Although Rodrick offered to come with his young master, Travis said he was old enough to be on his own. Moving through the hundreds of gravestones, Travis stopped before five large graves. Holding flowers for each one, he went over to the first two:

 ** _Here Lies Luther Lugna_**

 ** _Beloved Father And Hero of Costal City_**

 ** _"_** ** _Is Misneach an tine go luíonn i dúinn uile."_**

 ** _Rest In Peace_**

 ** _Here Lies Malory Lugna_**

 ** _Beloved Mother And Wife_**

 ** _Rest In Peace_**

"Hey, Dad. Hey, Mom," greeted Travis as he placed two of the bouquets of flowers. "I'm back." He wiped the tear from his eyes as he looked down at the stones. "I'm back… like I promised. I learned what I could to prepare myself, but…" He closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know if I can do this. I wish either of you were here to help me… but that's impossible now." Taking one of his hands, he gently caressed the pendant around his neck. The one that had been passed down from generation to generation, each doing their duty as was given to them by Saint Patrick himself.

And through him, the duty given to them by God.

He then got up and made to the next two headstones. Unlike the previous two, there were no humans buried under hear. But rather two dalmatians he once considered family.

 ** _Here Lies Axel_**

 ** _Beloved Dog and Beloved Partner_**

 ** _"_** ** _Aon duine , go mbeadh sé fear nó madra seastáin , ina n-aonar i bás"_**

 ** _Rest in Peace_**

 ** _Here Lies Bella_**

 ** _Beloved Dog and Beloved Mate_**

 ** _Rest in Peace_**

"Hey, you two," whispered Travis as he placed two more bouquets. "Most people wouldn't probably go out of there way to honor a pair of dogs like you. But you two were special. You… you were like my uncle and aunt." He lowered his head and shook it. "I know you told me to find him… but I couldn't… I tried so hard… but there wasn't a single part of him left. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He pressed his hand against the stone of Axel. "I know you dreamed of him and me replacing you… but it looks like I have to go at it alone."

And then there was the last one. The last stone which made him fall to his knees and weeping tear that showed no sign of stopping. Every memory he had of this one pup, every waking moment he had was filed with regret over his inability to save him. This was more then just a pup who was named on this stone, this was his best friend, his brother, the one he was suppose to share life and death with in the duty they had sworn to do together when they were young.

He didn't even have a body to mourn. Just a empty casket.

 ** _Here Lies Marshall_**

 ** _Beloved Pup and Beloved Son_**

 ** _Rest in Peace_**

"Marshall…" whispered Travis as he placed the bouquet and just cried.

It took him a full hour to get back to his sedan.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: So the first chapter was with just the human Travis because I wanted to first establish how different this is. For one thing, Travis thinks Marshall is already dead like before, but he has nobody else for support and there is a sort of tragic backstory with Travis that we gets hint at but not everything. Don't expect the full story to be hit with you full on out, there is a lot of build up to what is the major difference between this fic and the previous.**_

 _ **Another thing different is the ages. See, in this fic, dogs age the same way humans do. Meaning a sixty year old dog is a sixty year old dog. I did this to give the others a more human like aspect in them. They already drive trucks and speaks so why not.**_

 _ **Ryder and Travis are both 17. Marshall, Chase, and Rocky are 16. Skye, Everest, and Zuma are 15 and Rubble is 13.**_

 _ **Now that we saw a chapter on Travis, let's look at one with Marshall.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

It had happened so fast that nobody saw it coming until they heard the explosion and saw the flames. By then, there were already causalities and just as many were still trapped in the burning apartment complex that housed over sixty or so residents of Adventure Bay. Some of them with families.

Firefighters, police, and ambulance had arrived ten minutes in and went to work. The firefighters started spraying the apartment complex with water while rescuers went out to save as many lives as they could. Sometimes they came with success, other times they came with ashes. Police were already pushing back a panicking and curious crowd. They were also searching nearby building and evacuating them in case there was another explosion. Right now it was uncertain what caused it, but protocol dictated there were to be no chances taken.

It didn't help for the fact that this was the eighth building in three months to suddenly explode into an inferno rage.

Ambulances were doing their best to heal the wounded, deal with burns, or carry the screaming and dying into their trucks for a first class trip to the ER. Everybody was over working and it looked to be a long night.

And then they came and suddenly everyone felt their hopes raise up. Driving down the street was a young seventeen year old on an ATV with a police cruiser, fire truck, and a helicopter right above them. But instead of a human driving these vehicles, they were handled by dogs. A German Shepherd, a Dalmatian, and a Cockapoo. The dog paw logo on the cars was clear to everyone as their hearts cried with joy.

It was The Paw Patrol. The rescuers of Adventure Bay.

They had grown a lot older since their days as pups. Each of them was taller, bigger, and lost most of their signs of being pups replaced with adult looks.

Ryder immediately got off his ATV and took of his helmet before rushing over to a waving the fire captain in charge. "What's the situation?!"

"We got at least seven more people inside and the fire's already taken most of the top floors. Some residents are stuck on the roof, and we're bringing them down with our latters, but we'll take whatever help you got!" shouted the fire captain.

Ryder nodded and rushed back to his dogs. "Okay, here is the plan. Marshall, you and I are going to working on helping put the fire out, but be prepared to head in and help save lives if necessary. Skye, use your harness to help get people off the roof. Chase, I need you to help to clear traffic so that the ambulances can get out easier."

"You got it, Ryder!" shouted the three as they went to work. Chase drove near the edge of the street and started putting out his cones while Skye took to the sky, harness already coming out from the bottom of her chopper.

Marshall drove his fire truck alongside the others before he jumped out and barked. "Hose!" A slot opened and Marshall took the hose and lined himself up with his fellow firefighters. Ryder pressed a button that allowed him to grab a second hose and aim it as well at the house. "Hose on! Arf!"

Water sprayed out as Marshall carefully held on and sprayed in the burning windows and balconies. Already he could tell that something as different about this fire. Having been around them since he could remember, he could tell this fire was not by accident. The way it burned, the direction of the flames, and his own instinct that something _screamed_ wrong with this fire made him nervous.

"Damnit! We got like six hoses firing and yet this thing is still not dying!" shouted one of the firemen. Another fire dog, a terrier, rushed over to his human partner with a headset around his head. "Sir! Team Six is making their way back with four survivors!"

"Alright, everyone cool down the doorway so it can be easier for them!" shouted the fire captain.

Marshall temporarily turned off his hose and said, "I got it! Water cannons!"

The twin barrel cannons on Marshall's back opened up and he quickly rushed towards the door, careful of the smoke and small flames. Barking, he activated the hose, allowing it to spray the ice cold water on the door to make it easier for the fireman and civilians, some of which were pets like dogs or cats. Soon enough, they appeared, the civilians coughing out smoke as they were quickly tended to by EMT's.

One of the firemen rushed over to the chief. "We got a problem! A female pup was barking in the room above us but we're blocked by flames! We already wasted most of our tank water and oxygen trying get everybody out! We need to send another unit!"

Marshall didn't waste any time. He stepped forward. "Sir! I volunteer to go in and rescue the pup!" The chief turned to Ryder who in turn nodded as he told Marshall to be careful. "Don't worry, Ryder! I'm ready for a ruff ruff rescue!"

Getting out his puppad, Ryder called on Chase and Skye. "Chase, I need you to head back here and help me handle the fire in Marshall's place. He's going in to rescue a pup. Skye, you got the roof civilians to safety yet?"

" _All safe and being tended to on a different room, Ryder,"_ replied Skye.

"Good work, Skye," answered Ryder. "Stay around just in case we need you." He then pressed another button on his puppad. "Everest, you there?"

" _Right here, Ryder!"_ answered the husky.

"I need you to grab Marshall's EMT puppack and help us down here with the wounded.

" _On my way!"_ said Everest before going offline.

Marshall nodded in approval for Ryder's choice as a secondary Medical Dog. When they got older, Ryder thought it might be best to train the team in each other's specialty as a backup just in case. Out of all them, Everest was the second best trained as a Medical Dog next to Marshall himself. While Marshall's primary skills were in firefighting and medical training, he was very good in his secondary's which consisted of police work and water rescue. Besides him, the only other pups who were given medical training were Everest and Skye. He could trust Chase with the hose since he had fire training along with Zuma.

Readying himself, Marshall took a deep breath and concentrated on remaining calm. He had improved a lot over the years from his klutz like attitude from his days as a pup. Sure he still had that when he was off duty… and still slammed into the elevator every time they were called up. But on a mission? He was 100 percent ready for anything.

"Arf! Oxygen mask!" shouted Marshall as an air mash came out from his pack connected with his muzzle, a tube of air from a tank inside his pack sending out fresh air. "Ruff! Water Cannons!" Drawing his cannons he sprayed the water on the door before jumping into the flames.

* * *

"Fire and rescue! Anybody need assistance?!" shouted Marshall as loudly as possible to make sure there was nobody left behind by the other firefighters. He shouted it a few more times before moving towards the stairs for the next two floors. He could feel the flames burning the air around him, sometimes debris would fall down but he made sure to keep out of the way. He kept his Water Cannons out, ready to bark at a moment's notice for them to spray.

When he made to the third floor he activated his goggles x-ray mode to see if he could spot the pup. He managed to find her in what looked like a child's room, hiding under the bed. A few flames were in the way, but he quickly dosed those out before pushing the door open with his shoulder. He could hear the pup whimper and saw her, a beagle, retreat further into the bed.

Carefully walking up to the bed, he lowered himself and smiled underneath his mask. "Hey there. I'm Marshall of Paw Patrol. What's your name?"

"L-Luna…"

"That's a nice name, Luna," said Marshall, inching closer. "I'm here to rescue you and bring you back to your owner. Okay? Can you please come with me?"

"B-bu-t-t what about the m-m-m-monster?" asked Luna, shivering with fear.

Marshall tilted his head. "Monster?"

"The one who set the fire… I saw him," muttered Luna.

Marshall did his best not to growl. Just as he and the team has been suspecting for a few months now. There was an arsonist going around Adventure Bay. Marshall hated them with a passion, ever since he was a pup when he saw firsthand how evil those who used fire for their twisted and perverted desires could be. Pushing away his anger and bad memories for now, he reached out his paw for the beagle. "Well, if any monster does show up I'll keep you safe. You can trust me."

The beagle slowly inched forward, eyeing Marshall's paw while judging what to do. Finally, she grabbed it. Marshall then hoisted her up to this back where she wrapped her paws around his neck. He told her to take a small backup breather in his puppack and taught her how to apply it so she could be able to breath. After instructing her to keep her head down at all times, Marshall walked out of the door while contacting his owner. "Marshall here. I got the pup and heading out right now."

" _Good work, Marshall. See you in a few minutes."_

Before he could respond, the pup on his back screamed. "Mr. Marshall! The monster is right there!"

Marshall turned around and froze. He had seen many things before. Murpups. Aliens. Even ghosts. But this… this was something new… and scary.

It looked human, but like entirely made of burned flesh and embers while standing at huge six and half feet tall as it seemed to emanate heat and was ignoring the fire that surrounded it. It's human like face held no mouth or nose but four eyes, two big and two small ones, that seemed to hold fire inside of its eyelids. It's bat like and hole filled ears flapped while it raised something that made Marshall's skin crawl. A scythe. A scythe made out of burned human flesh. And it was glowing with fire.

Marshall's instincts kicked in and he ran. He didn't want to know what the… thing was planning and already he was terrified more than he ever was in his life. He heard it scream something as Marshall saw an open window and a fire ladder nearby.

"Hold tight!" shouted Marshall as he reached out the window and jumped. As he did, those below him watched in horror as an explosion of flames erupted behind him and nearly obliterated the room and the window itself. Marshall managed to land his paws on the ladder and slide down without much difficulty before jumping onto the ground.

The crowd applauded for Marshall's heroics as he told Luna they were safe. The poor pup was shivering with fear and Marshall didn't blame her. _What the heck was that thing?!_

Some EMT's took Luna away as her family and owners came for her. Poor pup was going to be traumatized and Marshall could only hope she got better. Disregarding his mask, Marshall took in deep breaths as he sat down and breathed fresh air. Ryder, Chase, and Everest, in his EMT pack, rushed over.

"You okay, buddy?" asked Chase, paw on his shoulder.

"Water," gasped Marshall to which Everest responded by handing him an ice cold bottle. He quickly drank it all in one gulp. "Thanks… you won't believe what I saw…"

"What did you see, Marshall?" asked Ryder, narrowing his eyes.

"I… I don't know what it was… or who it was…" Marshall closed his eyes for a bit before glaring at the burning building. "But I know it caused this…"


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Well, so far the first two chapters have been a good success. Some people are curious if the one who started the fire in the second chapter was either a human or something else. Well, you're going to have to wait and find out. I will also say this right now, this story is going to have some pretty dark moments. And if you read my Zuma's Fear story, then you know that I am not afraid to go into very dark territory.**_

 _ **Also, does anybody know if the series takes places somewhere in the US or Canada? Truth be told it feels like it can go either way.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

While Costal City was very famous for its tall buildings and luscious architectural design, one building was more famous than any other. It had grown over the years since it was first built over 120 years ago, but the family that owed it had been around longer than that since their roots in Ireland. Nobody was allowed into the building, much less the gates without permission or work permit, even the Mayor of the city had to set up an appointment.

This was none other than Lugna Tower. A sparkling white tower at 30 floors with the flaming trinity logo that had been the family's coat of arms since ancient days. The tower was not only home to the Lugna family, but was also one of the home of some of the most advance technology in the world. It had been a leading founder of technological advances in both computers, military, science, public service and rescue, and their biggest donations: firefighters.

The business portion of the company was done on the first twenty floors while the remaining ten served only for the family of the Lugna line and their only servant. Currently, the sole heir and last of the line was in his lavishing living room with high class red furniture, fireplace, set of collected arts and painting, and 90 inch plasma screen TV. Instead of using that, Travis was instead watching a crowd of photographers, reporters, and newscasters outside of the gates via holographic interface connected to the security system. Tablet in hand he swiped it and summoned a second holographic screen that showed the news castings from all over the nation talking about him, not to mention a few tweets about him having returned and wondering if he would show case his father's suit.

The suit. He had yet to try it on, or even go through simulation with hit. A part of him was afraid to do so, but another part of him was reluctant to do it because he had no partner. Every Lugna who held the suit and held the family duty did it with a partner, and now he had to follow the same route. _Yet can I be that hero without Marshall?_

The living room door opened and Rodrick appeared, holding a cucumber and bacon sandwich and milk. "You're lunch is ready, sir."

"Just place it on the coffee table," said Travis without looking.

Rodrick proceeded to do so before he looked back as his young master. "The board of directors wish to have a meeting with you tomorrow. They wish to know how you plan on using your new position now that you are claiming your father's seat as head of the company."

"Tell the board I will meet with them in the morning," said Travis as he swiped his tablet and let the holograms fade. "As for what I plan to do," he walked over and took his sandwich before taking a bite, "I plan on letting things stay the same. Only I want to devote an additional six percent of our funding, resources, and such to the fire prevention program we have. Have the equipment I requested come through?"

"Yes sir," said Rodrick. "The holy water, blessed from the River Jorden, has arrived and ready for use. The silver crosses made from the silver mines of Argentina will be here tomorrow. And that shards of St. Joan of Arc's weapons are currently being used to upgrade your ax."

"Good. If they are going to appear again, we'll be prepared," said Travis as he finished the rest of his lunch.

"There are two more things you must take note of sir," said Rodrick.

"Which are?"

"Mayor Dalton wishes to speak with you at some point soon to discuss the upcoming National Firedog's Championship Tournament," muttered Rodrick with a displeasure in his tone upon mentioning the mayor's name.

Travis paused in lifting his drink and stared at his butler with a burning flame of anger in his glare. "That idiot is mayor now?! After what he did all those years ago?! Why?!"

"Apparently, he's very charismatic…" muttered Rodrick.

"Or he was brown nosing a lot of high class people…" growled Travis in disgust as he put down his drink, unable to find the appetite to finish it. "When the fire on the ship was starting, he ordered his men to save the high class people first. Mostly those of political and business ranks. No doubt they would help him fund and influence his campaign for mayor. Meanwhile, my father and Axel went to save the ones trapped below, the non-rich, and get them to safety at the cost of their lives. Sometimes I wonder if there is justice in this world."

He pushed the memories of that day behind him and asked, "What's this National Firedog's Championship thing?"

"It was started a year after you left the city, sir," answered Rodrick as he took the tablet and activated another hologram. This time it showed newspaper clips, web videos, and even a wiki page about the tournament. "It was made in honor of Axel, a tournament of the best fire pups in the world coming together for the chance of great fame and glory. It's very popular here. According to the Mayor, he believes that his tournament's winner will help you find your new partner."

"He has no right to decide that," growled Travis as he grabbed the tablet and shut it off. "I decide who I want as a partner. If I even want another one."

"Still, it's a big charity organization, and much is for the Firefighter's of the city. Our company help pays for it too," said Rodrick. "It would be best if you did attend, to show support for them like your father did."

"… I suppose," whispered Travis. "But that doesn't mean I'll take a partner then and there."

Suddenly, there as a loud alarm as red lights began to flick on and off in not just the living room, but all the other rooms in the top floor. Like lightning, the two rushed out of the door and headed towards the elevator before pressing a button labeled with the trinity symbol. It rushed up to the top and upon stopping the two entered what many would call a secret lair if not the fact that this room wasn't much a secret.

It pure white with multiple control panels, holographic and physical screens that were showing various amounts of data, graphs, reports, and satellite photos. There was entire hallway dedicated to data servers and a small equipment desk with various tools for inventions or creations. There was even a small lab behind a glass door with the latest scientific equipment and resources. All used in the war against something not human. Heading over to the main super computer, Travis typed into it as the middle floor opened up and revealed a large 3d map of the city.

"Is it one of them?" asked Rodrick, concerned. After all, his young master hadn't even tried on the suit yet.

"No, but the Gabriel System just sensed a burst of magic being used. Fire magic specifically," muttered Travis as he read the data. He turned around and saw a red dot appearing on the 3D map before zooming in. "Corner of W32nd and North Ave."

He typed into the computer again and this time a news report appeared on the screen with a young African American lady speaking at the camera. _"-And as you can see firefighters and police have just arrived on the scene. The sudden explosion was so close to our team that News Channel 8 was on the scene first to just catch the beginnings of the fire."_

The camera lifted up to show a small complex building being overcome by fire and flames. The rescue workers were working at full speed to get people out of the area and set up for their fight against the fire.

"Do you think this is a message, sir?" asked Rodrick. "After all, you being back in town has probably caught the eye of our enemy."

"Perhaps," muttered Travis as he felt his hand clenched. "They want to greet me their usual way, that's fine. But not when innocent lives are at risk." He closed his eyes and relaxed before turning to Rodrick. "We're going there."

"You're going to help them out?" asked Rodrick.

"Know, but that fire is weak. It will take them only two hours or so to put it out," muttered Travis. "I want to investigate the place when it's been cleared. Find what caused it and if it was magic or not."

"And if magic was involved?" asked Rodrick as he got out the car keys.

Travis sighed, "Then we got more to expect later."

* * *

As he predicted, the fire was almost mostly out save for the top floor where the flames were hottest. Travis figured it must be the center where the spell was summoned and resolved to check it out first. Naturally, his car attracted attention as reporters and civilians were trying to get to him and his car, many asking if he was here because of what he represented. Thankfully, the police were alerted ahead of time and blocked the way so he could have better access.

Arriving at the scene, Travis got out, followed by Rodrick, as one of the fire captains came over and shook his hand. "When I heard you were coming I didn't believe it. Welcome back."

Travis nodded in kind as he watched the crew putting out the last of the fire. "You seem to have this under control."

"My team's the best, we even have the World's Fastest Firepup," said the captain as he whistled and a pup who was spraying water with her own custom made red puppack, paused and rushed over. Travis had a look at her. She seemed to be a dalmatian, age 16, with more white on her then spots. She was wearing a firemen's uniform custom made for a pup, but instead of red and yellow it was red and black and single black flame with a smaller red flame inside of it was her patch on her shoulders. Her eyes held a rare determination and courage that Travis had rarely seen in such dogs.

"Ember reporting for duty, sir," she said with a salute. She turned to Travis and saluted him too. "Travis Lugna, it's an honor to meet you as well. Are you here to evaluate me before the upcoming tournament?"

"Excuse me?" asked Travis, tilting his head.

"The National Firedog's Championship Tournament, sir," said Ember with pride as she stood straight up with her chest puffed out. "I look forward to being your partner, sir. I broke most of the Firepup and Firedog records since I was 8. I've been training my entire life from both my department and my family to become your new partner."

"… that's nice, Ember," said Travis, taking a sigh. "But I'm more focused on that fire which is not normal."

He walked closer to the fire and eyed it, noticing how the flames were not retreating despite six different hoses firing onto it. "How long have you been firing your water at it?" asked Travis?

"About almost an hour now, we have no idea what's keeping it going," said the captain.

Travis slowly took of his pendent which was starting to slowly glow. "I have an idea but I need to get in there." He turned to the captain and Ember. "I need a spare suit. Also, Ember I need you to come with me to keep the fire off my back."

"Sir?" asked Rodrick stepping forward. "Are you sure? Wouldn't using the Navan Suit be a better choice?"

"The Navan Suit is for fighting _them,_ Rodrick," muttered Travis as a fireman came over with a spare firefighter's outfit. "And this isn't _them..._ yet."

* * *

 _ **AN: Next one will continue this as well as show a bit more with Marshall. And before people ask, yes, Ember is going to be a reoccurring character.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: And we continue with our story. I actually don't have much to say today so let's just get on shall we?**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

This wasn't the first time Travis had been in a burning building. He often became a volunteer fireman in many of the towns and cities he traveled and lived in. Remembering his training, he calmly climbed up the burned stair case with Ember leading him. The dally made sure to keep an eye out for anything, even stopping Travis so she could sniff the area and make sure nothing was wrong.

He had to admire her dedication. Yet, every time he saw him he couldn't help but think of the little dalmatian he became best friends with and wished it was him by his side. A small part of him, one that he couldn't get rid of no matter what, told that they never found the body of Marshall. His dad, his mom, the dogs? All found and buried. Marshall still remained unfound.

The larger more logical side of Travis forced the hopeful side to remember that Marshall was still a pup when they lost him. Hundreds of miles away from any land in the sea. Even if he did survive the attack, he couldn't have survived on the ocean for so long before succumbing to hunger or thirst.

But that was neither the time nor place for that. Travis had to focus.

He and Ember finally saw the flames that were dancing around the final floor and Travis got as close as he could to see where they were coming from. Holding his pendant in one hand, which was vibrating, he raised his hand and pointed to the middle of the center hallway. "There! I need to get there! Cover me from the flames!"

"Bark! Water hose!" shouted Ember as her backpack opened up and released a hose. She grabbed it and started spraying the water at full blast.

Travis wasted no time as he rushed to the center, the water protecting him from the flames that were now attracted to a new presence and sought to turn it to ash. Sliding forward he reached the center where he found what he was looking for.

 _Pentagram,_ thought Travis as he stared at the star circle with multiple ruins. Wasting no time, he held his pendant over it and shouted _, "Illucescente!"_

The pendant he had begun to glow as did the pentagram. They both shined a mix of red, blue, and gold before there was a large snapping sound and a flash of light which blinded both the human and dog. By the time it was finished, the two opened their eyes and saw none of the fire remained. Vanished into thin air.

"W-what?" asked Ember, looking around in confusion. "What's going on? What happened to the fire?"

"I broke the spell, without the spell the fire couldn't be made," said Travis standing up as he pocked his pendant.

"Spell? Then it was _them?"_ asked Ember with wide eyes.

"No, they don't use magic. Only humans do," said Travis, shaking his head. "This is the workvof their followers."

* * *

It took a few hours for the smoke to be completely cleared out so that Travis and the firefighters could do their job. Police in the Arsonist Division were also here now that the fire was ruled to be done on purpose. Normally, 'magic' would be laughed at, but in Costal City they had seen their fair share of the supernatural.

Travis, tablet in hand, was scanning the pentagram while Rodrick, Ember, and the fire chief watch him. "Why would they do this? And in a simple apartment building no less. Wouldn't someplace like city hall be a better target?"

"Either it was some new follower testing out their new power or…" Travis's tablet lit up as the symbol appeared on the screen along with the data. "It's a warning message."

"To who?" asked Ember.

He turned to Rodrick who glanced at him with sympathy. "Me."

* * *

"Okay, Marshall," said Ryder as he finished writing in his puppad. "You head downstairs. Thanks for your time."

"Yes, sir," said Marshall as he made his way to the elevator and took it down. He could tell that Ryder was unsure about what he had been told but he was going to keep it in his data anyway.

Marshall wasn't sure he could really blame him. A monster causing the fire and then disappearing after it was over? It seemed weird, but the Paw Patrol had met the supernatural and alien before. Yet nothing like this.

Still, Marshall gave his report about what happened and the results were mixed. Chase, Skye, and Rocky seemed doubtful of it while Zuma and Rubble believed him. Ryder wasn't completely sure, but he wasn't going to dismiss it either.

 _Maybe it's best if I just forget about it,_ thought Marshall, but he couldn't help but worry that this was not going to stop. Arsons had been going around Adventure Bay for the past few months and if it was a monster that was causing them, how do you fight against something like that?

Reaching the floor room where the pups could sleep and relax (they had long since outgrown using their puphouses), he made his way to the room where he and Chase shared their bed. Since the pups had grown, the Lookout had changed too with new floors, rooms, and designs. There were beds, a kitchen, a few new bathrooms, a training room, inventing room (mostly for Rocky), and such. In the rooms you had Chase and Marshall sharing one, followed by Rubble and Zuma while Rocky pretty much made his own living conditions in the inventing room, and Skye for privacy with a bed for Everest if she ever came up to sleepover.

Pressing his paw on the paw scanner, he opened his door only to yipe in surprise and shut the door while Chase and Skye, in the bed and thankfully covered, screamed as well. "MARSHALL! KNOCK NEXT TIME!"

"S-SORRY!" shouted Marshall, turning bright red from the closed door. "Uh… you want me to leave so you guys can finish?"

"That would be great, yes," growled Chase.

"R-right, sorry again!" shouted Marshall as he turned back to the elevator and tried to forget the images in his head. _At least it wasn't on my bed they were doing it on._

A bit of loneliness hit Marshall as he couldn't help but be a bit jealous of his best friend for having a girlfriend. It took their early teen years for Chase to finally admit his feelings for Skye which she responded in kind by confessing her own feelings. Since then, the two had been inseparable. Marshall wished he had a girl like Skye for himself, but the only girl he knew was Everest and she was just a friend.

At least… he thought they were…it was weird.

Exiting the elevator, as well as saying hello to Rubble and Zuma who were coming in the Lookout, Marshall headed over to his puphouse for some private time. While most of the pups had moved their stuff into their rooms, Marshall kept a few things inside. After barking to let the computer system know it was him, he entered the house and smiled as his treasure. Most of it was a collection of things he valued very much including Apollo Comics, Beatles Albums, all his belts in Pup-Fu, his old uniform (he had grown a lot) and more.

"Marshall?"

He paused in his looking and went outside to find a female blue and white husky waiting for him with a trainer's cap and whistle on. "I figured I'd find you here! Come on, It's training time!"

Marshall smirked upon seeing Everest's hyper attitude to get him ready for the upcoming National Firedog's Championship Tournament in Costal City in a few days. He had decided to try his best against the top firedogs in the world and represent Adventure Bay as best as he could. Needless to say, all the town was rooting for him. This was going to be different then trying to win the World's Fastest Firepup Record. This was him going up against a legion of trained firedogs like him.

Normally, Chase and Ryder would be the ones mainly training him but both were trying their best to figure out these arsons with their detective skills. Marshall wanted to help, but they told him to concentrate on the tournament. Therefore, Everest decided she would help Marshall train.

If Chase was his best friend, Everest was a close second. They were always friends, but a certain incident as pups made them grow closer and they had each other's back ever since.

"I'll be there in a minute, just going through memory lane," said Marshall, referring to his treasure behind him. Everest tilted her head and, upon seeing her curiosity, Marshal asked, "You wanna see?"

Nodding, Everest entered the room and was amazed by all the stuff in his puphouse. "Wow, you sure collect a lot of things."

"Yup, I guess I took lessons from Rocky when he said 'Don't lose it, Reuse it' huh?" laughed Marshall.

One item caught Everest's eyes and it was a pendant with a strange mark on it. "What's this?"

"Oh, that's the most important thing I own," said Marshall, taking it in his paws and smiling at it. "See this? This is a Celtic trinity. I guess it must have had some significance to me when I first washed up on Adventure Bay, though I don't know why."

"Oh, so this is was with you when Ryder and Chase found you all those years ago on the beach?" asked Everest with a sad smile.

Marshall nodded, his eyes deep in nostaglica. He could still remember tasting the sand from the beach as well as his own blood. If Ryder and Chase hadn't found him in time he feared he wouldn't even be here alive. He turned the other side and read the wording on it: "Marshall"

The only thing he had of his past.

When he woke up he had no memory of who he was, where he came from or who owned him. He didn't even have memories of his parents. It had been years since that day and sometimes he wondered what he was become arriving in Adventure Bay, but the life he lived now what who he was.

He was Marshall of Paw Patrol. That's all that mattered at the moment.

Everest put a paw on his shoulder and gave him a smile. "I'm sure that whoever you belonged to would be proud of you."

Marshall smiled back before putting the pendant away. "Come on, let's get to training. I'm fired up!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: So if you hadn't seen the first episode of the new season, Rocky apparently has a new voice actor. I can't really tell if it's a good change or bad since it is new and all. As for how he sounds now, a bit more kid like and a lot more girly (even though the voice actor is still a boy) I'm not saying this is a bad change or something but we'll see what happens. This make Ryder, Chase, Marshall, and now Rocky the only ones to go through a voice acting shift while the original voice actors for Rubble, Zuma, and Skye still are around (Not counting Everest since she came midway in Season 2). And yes, all of them are kids who have been doing the voices which I find cool. These kids got skills.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

"Move that butt of yours, Marshall! I want to see you hustle!" shouted Everest with a megaphone as she watched the dalmatian hustle as best as he could on the tracks.

Leaping over every hurdle that was in his way, Marshall put every amount of his brain power in focusing on the task at hand. The Tournament was going to come soon and he needed the best training possible if he was going to come up on top. He had heard rumors online that Ember, a fire dog from Costal City, and the breaker of the World's Fastest Firepup Record, was going to be competing this year. And she was just one out of dozens from all over the United States.

 _Gotta keep focus. Gotta keep focus. Do my best, forget the rest!_ Marshall thought as he cleared another hurdle.

"Hey, is that a bomber plane?" asked Everest out of nowhere.

"Where?! Wah-woooaaah!" shouted Marshall as he paused in mid-leap and ended up crashing into one of the hurdles. He rolled across the floor, knocking down about ten of them before he flopped to his stomach next to an amused Everest. Chuckling, he got up and asked, "So do I get a strike for that bowl?"

"More like a gutter you silly turkey," laughed Everest which caused Marshall to snicker at the joke. "You really need to learn to ignore your surroundings better."

"Sorry, comes with being a dalmatian. One minute your about to do one thing and the next something grabs your attention," said Marshall, shrugging with a smile.

Everest walked over to a nearby cooler they brought and opened it, getting out two ice cold water bottles for them. She tossed one over to Marshall who opened it up and began to drink greedily. "Let's take a break, you look like you could use it after that wipe out."

Marshall didn't complain, he just walked over to the grass and sat down before panting. Everest joined him as the two of them looked at the passing clouds overhead. "So did you really see a monster?" asked Everest, turning to him.

Taking a deep breath, Marshall nodded. "Yeah, it was… I don't know what to describe it... but one word would be accurate."

"What's that?" asked Everest.

Marshall gulped before taking a deep breath. _"A demon."_

"Demons? Like those creatures from hell Jake told me about?" asked Everest, tilting her head.

"Yeah, there are different myths about them, but most either believe or don't believe they exist," said Marshall, taking another sip. "They're pure evil. Whose only purpose is to cause harm to mortals so they can steal their souls."

"Sounds scary," said Everest, shivering. "Do you believe it was a demon?"

"Maybe… I've seen a lot of weird things in my life when I joined Paw Patrol like mer-pups, aliens, cursed temples, and such. Demons would be on the top of the scary list though," said Marshall. He sighed and shook his head. "The others don't believe me. Even Zuma and Rubble think I saw something scary but they're not sure if it was a _demon_ or something. Everyone else thinks it's just a guy in a costume or I was seeing things."

He whimpered a bit. He knew what he saw and he was sure it was still out there. It was still going to cause more fires and hurt innocent people. Marshall didn't know how to stop such a thing like that, but he was determined to do so if it appeared again.

"I believe you," said Everest with a smile which made Marshall turn his head in surprise. "I've known you for years, Marshall. You're never the type to lie about such things."

"T-thanks, Everest," said Marshall as a full blown smile decorated his lips.

"But I am curious about one thing," said Everest, scratching the back of her head. "I've been curious and I know only a little about it… but…" She looked into his eyes and pleaded. "Do you think you can tell me about how you got to Adventure Bay? I mean, I know you lost your memory and all, but… I don't know the full details."

Marshall was quiet for a bit as he thought about it. "I guess. It's not a story I often tell anymore because I've made peace with it. But since you are my closest friend next to Chase, and a member of the team, it's only right that I tell you."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "The first thing I remember was the taste of blood in my mouth…"

* * *

The sound of the waking sea awoke the strange pup from his unconscious state. Painfully, he opened his weary eyes and felt like he had been crushed by something heavy. Blinking a bit, his vision slowly began to become clearer, but he still had a hard time seeing things. He saw, and could feel, soft sand against his body which was wracking with pain. The tip of the ocean behind him watered his lower paws and tail making him realize he was on a beach.

But where was this beach? And… who was he?

He tried to think of a name for himself, but he had nothing. He looked to the past… and there was only darkness. Fear began to creep into his heart as he tried his best to get up, but the pain was too much and he whimpered. He could feel something around his neck, something metal and cold. Was it his or something on the beach?

He knew he needed help, but he could barely speak let alone move. His vision was starting to darken as well. Just as all hope seemed lost he heard something faint, but nearby.

"Ryder! There's an injured dalmatian on the beach! Hurry!" shouted a voice.

 _Dalmatian? Is that what I am?_ He thought. And then, just like that, he was out again.

* * *

Waking up again, the pup slowly opened his eyes and felt strangely a lot better. He was no longer on the beach this time, but in some kind of white room on a really nice bed. He could see a lot better now, and saw that it was sunny outside from his window while nearby there was a glass wall with shades that he could see through. Strange creatures in funny garments and walking on two legs were walking by. His memory soon made him realize that these were humans, and this place was a hos… hos…

 _Hospital,_ thought the pup as he felt pleased to have remembered something. He tried to think of something else. He knew he was a pup, a dalmatian specifically, but… he didn't know what else about himself.

 _Darn it! This is frustrating! Who am I-OW!_ Thought the pup as he tried to move, but flinched in pain when he did. His body was covered with medical tape and one of his rear legs was in a cast. _Must be broken…_

The door nearby opened and the pup nearly jumped in fright upon seeing two strangers. One was a human, a kid who was wearing a red and white jacket with a logo of a pup paw on it and blue jeans. He also had a strange pineapple like head-

* * *

Everest nearly spat out her water and laughed. "Pineapple head?! Seriously?!"

"Hey, he does look like it sometimes!" laughed Marshall, shaking his head. "Anyway…"

* * *

-and with his was a dog. A pup like him specifically who was dark brown with strong and excited blue eyes. He couldn't tell the breed as the name escaped him, but he realized this must have been the one who saved him the moment he heard his voice.

"Glad to see you're up and doing well," said the pup, panting and leaping forward with excitement. "You're actually my first rescue! And I haven't even finished training yet!"

"Easy there, Chase," said the human, scratching the pup's ear. "I bet he's confused so let's no overexcite him."

"Yes, Ryder, Sir."

Despite suspecting these were the ones who saved his life, the dalmatian inched away as they got closer, tugging his sheets closer as if they were a shield to protect him. Seeing this, Ryder stopped and held out his hands in a calm manner. "Woah there, no need to be afraid. We're friends."

"F-friends?" asked the pup.

"Yeah, we found you on the beach. Well, I did actually, and we got you help in the hospital," said the other pup. He went to the bed and launched himself up onto the mattress. Sitting down, he held out his paw. "I'm Chase. That's Ryder, my owner. What's your name?"

"I… I don't know…" whispered the pup, closing his eyes as tears began to leak out. "I don't know who I am… or where I am or from… I… I don't know anything…" He did his best to avoid bawling, but he still couldn't help but cry. He didn't know who he was or where he was from. Did he have a family? An owner like Chase? Was he casted out? Loved? Hated?

He felt something pet his forehead and he looked up to see the warm smile of Ryder as his hand continued to comfort him. "Hey, it's okay, but you really don't remember anything?" Marshall shook his head. "You must have amnesia then."

"Amnesia? You mean he lost his memories?" asked Chase with sympathy in his eyes and concern in his voice.

"Yeah, it happens sometimes. Poor little pup must have hit his head and lost them all," said Ryder, scratching the ear.

"Will… will I get them back?" asked the dalmatian, slowly calming down as the scratch made him relax more.

"It's hard to say. Amnesia is tricky. You could get them back one day or they may never come back. It all depends," said Ryder, shaking his head.

"So… I may never find anything about me…" muttered the dalmatian before taking a big sigh.

"Hey, don't be like that," encouraged Chase as he walked over and placed his paw on the other pup's shoulder. "You'll find your memories someday. And until you do, you can live with us at the Lookout!"

"What's a Lookout?" asked the pup, tilting his head.

"It's where we live! It's really cool too, say you'll live with us! Please?! I've always wanted a friend!" begged Chase, doing his best puppy eyes technique.

The dalmatian stared at both of his smiling rescuers. He really didn't have anywhere else to go, and these two not only saved his life but were also offering him a place to stay. For the first time since he could remember, a smile decorated his face as he felt his heart melt at such kindness given to a helpless pup like him. "Okay, I'll stay with you."

"Ruff! Ruff! Alright!" said Chase, cheering for joy.

"Great, I'll clear it out with the hospital," said Ryder before he snapped his fingers. "Oh, before I forget. You were wearing this when we found you. Must be yours." He pulled out a strange pendant out of his pocket with a flaming symbol on it that the pup didn't recognize. "I don't know what the picture is, but I'll find out later… hey wait a minute." Ryder looked carefully at the back and rubbed some dirt off of it with his thumb. When it was gone the three saw a name written on the back.

"Marshall? Is that your name?" asked Chase, looking at the dalmatian.

"I… I guess… it's as good a name as any," said the pup who nodded. "My name shall be… Marshall."

* * *

"The rest is history as they say," finished Marshall as he tossed his empty water bottle into the cooler. "Ryder trained me to be a fire pup and I've been one since."

Everest gave him a sad smile before nuzzling him. "It must be sad not knowing who you once were."

"At first, but as I grew older I accepted that I had a new life now and that this is where I need to be," said Marshall, looking up into the sky. "I don't know if the Marshall before was happy, but I do know that I am the Marshall now. And doing what I need to do as a member of Paw Patrol is more important than anything else."

 _Still,_ thought Marshall as he closed his eyes and felt the wind against his fur, _I wonder if there is anyone out there who does miss the Old Marshall._

* * *

Rodrick was worried for his young master. He had been a servant and friend of the family since he met his father all those years ago in Ireland. Ever since his old master's death, he had tried to do the best he could to be the father figure in young Travis's life. However, Travis's childhood ended that day when everyone from his parents to the dogs were lost.

Now his young master had been forced to change into an adult if he was to protect the city, as was the duty carried in his blood. He watched as the simulation doors opened and Travis, dressed in a T-shirt and sweats, came out sweating and taking deep breaths.

In less than a second, Rodrick had a towel and bottle of water for his master. Travis accept it with a nod and drank half the water down in a few gulps nonstop before he asked, "How were my test scores?"

"Better than your father's at his age," answered Rodrick. "Your simulations data with the Navan Suit is already been submitted for you to review… in the morning."

"I can still go a few more rounds," argued Travis, hufing and puffing and doing his best to ignore the shaking in his legs.

"I believe your body is telling you different. I already warmed up a bath for you," said Rodrick, putting his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "You will have plenty of time to get used to it before you must use it. Rome wasn't built in a single day after all."

A yawn escaped Travis's lips before he reluctantly nodded. "Fine, you win. I'll look at the data and continue the simulations in the morning." He put the towel on his shoulder and walked away. "Goodnight, Rodrick."

"Goodnight, Master Travis," whispered Rodrick as he watched his charge leave. _Yes, grown up so fast… yet only too fast._


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this. Holidays and everything. Anyway, shall we continue? Some people have asked me how long is this going to be, and I can tell you right now it will be long. Longer than any Paw Patrol story I've done. This doesn't mean I won't work on other stories while doing this one such as Zuma's Courage and Everest Gone Missing when we get there, but I at least want to finish my Puppy Love Moments 2 before tackling those.**_

 _ **Also, to that one person who asked if there is romance: Yes, but it doesn't play a factor at all until later in the story. Like much later.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

Time had passed, but there were no future arson attacks much to the relief of those in Adventure Bay. The one behind the attack was still loose and Chase didn't have any leads, but he was determined to find them. Marshall, naturally, helped his best friend as best as he could, but there was no trace of where this person was or where they went to. While this continued to haunt Marshall due to his belief that this thing was a demon, it still meant they had no leads.

However, that was in the back of his mind as he was helping everyone prepare for the trip to Costal City for the competition. Despite feeling more nervous than Rocky in a hot Jacuzzi, he felt more ready then ever for the Firedog contest. The Paw Patroler was being brought, although they would have to take a plane along with the Patroler to get to the main land. Marshall, having lived on the island since he arrived, was excited to finally be seeing someplace else.

He wasn't the only one. Zuma had made plans to check out some of the surfing while Rocky was interested in Lugna Tower, which was said to be home to some of the most advance technology in the world. Rubble wanted to try different restaurants out, naturally, while Skye and Chase were looking forward to a romantic getaway. Even Ryder was looking forward to having some fun with his dogs.

Of course, all of them were going to so they could cheer for Marshall. Well, except for one.

"I really wish you could go with us, Everest," said Marshall as he and the husky tossed in a duffel bag. "I mean; you did help me train for this."

"It's okay. Somebody needs to look after Adventure Bay, plus with the summer coming up soon me and Jake need to prepare the lodges for the vacationing families. Besides, you got your lucky pedant with you," said Everest, wagging her tail as she pointed to the flaming Celtic trinity symbol he wore around his neck. He had decided to bring it with him for good luck, but he couldn't explain why. Just that he needed to do it. "But we'll be watching it on TV! So I'll cheer for you so loud you'll hear me across the ocean!"

"If that happens, we'll all go deaf by the sound of it," joked a passing by Zuma.

Ryder exited the Patroler and clapped his hands. "Okay, Paw Patrol. Line up!" The seven of them did so. "Now we're all going to head to a new city. I know this is the first time some of you have been off Sirius Island, but just treat everyone with respect and courtesy and we'll be fine."

"I'm really excited that we're going to be flying on a plane! I've only ever been on it once and that was coming here from the other end of the island!" said Skye, cheerfully.

"Actually, Skye, we're not going by plane," said Ryder with a big smile.

Everyone but Rocky was confused by this. "Then are we heading by boat?" asked Zuma.

"Nope. We're talking the Paw Patroler," answered Ryder, pointing to it.

"Um, Ryder, sir? The Paw Patroler can't drive on water," pointed out Chase.

"Who said anything about driving?" asked Ryder, cryptically as he pulled out his pup-pad and pressed a button.

The gang jumped upon seeing the Paw Patroller's sides open up, revealing long bars that extended forward. Jet engines and propellers were seen popping out as they started to rotate and turn on. The front of the Paw Patrol also changed, becoming more cone like and smoother while the rear opened up and showed a fin.

"Behold, the Paw Patroler Virtibird mode!" shouted Ryder over the roar of the jet engines which began to kick up wind.

"Woah! Cool!" shouted all the dogs, minus Rocky who looked pleased with himself.

"Rocky and I designed this together a few week ago. We thought it would be the perfect time to show it! What do you think?!" screamed Ryder.

"I'll say it again! Rocky, you and Ryder are brilliant!" shouted Marshall.

"Thanks!" replied Rocky, wagging his tail.

"Okay, Paw Patrol, let's get going!" shouted Ryder as he pressed a button on the pup pad and opened up the side door of the Paw Patroler. The dogs all shouted with excitement as they entered it, Everest waving goodbye. Marshall was the last one in and he waved back at Everest, just as the doors closed, knocking him back and ending up getting trapped in an open suitcase.

"Guess I'm _suited_ up and ready to go, huh gang?" asked Marshall, chuckling.

The gang all rolled their eyes at the bad pun and helped him out just as the Paw Patroler was lifting off. They all quickly headed over to their seats up front, which was now more of a cockpit then a car dash, and buckled up tight as RoboDog barked and prepared for liftoff.

They watched themselves slowly lift up from the ground as the vehicle soon turned into the direction of the ocean and took off at top speeds. Some of the pups like Skye and Zuma cheered at the speed they were going. Others like Marshall and Rubble were starting to feel sick from the sudden lurch and look a little green.

"I think I feel breakfast coming up. Ugh," groaned Rubble.

"Ew, dude. Don't barf in my direction," said Zuma, forcing Rubble to look the other way.

Eventually, they began to slow down and RobotDog turned off the "Seatbelts" sign much to Marshall's relief. He excused himself to the stationary room where the bags and vehicles were kept. Getting some fresh air in the more open environment, he calmly sat down and let his stomach stop flipping around. "You okay, buddy?" asked Chase, walking behind him. "Don't want you getting sick before the contest starts."

"I'm fine, Chase," muttered Marshall, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I just hate flying."

"So, you pumped up for winning the top spot?" asked Chase as he sat down next to his best friend.

"Yeah, but I'm more concerned about doing my best," answered Marshall, closing his eyes as I remembered his mantra. _Do my best and forget the rest._

"Well, it would be nice to have another contest winner. I mean Rocky's got all those invention awards, Zuma his surfing ones, Rubble and Everest share snowboarding, Skye's got her airshow ones, and I've mastered herding easily after finally beating Silva two years ago," said Chase as he scratched his head. "Come to think of it. You stopped going into contests as we got older. I mean you tried for the World's Fastest Firepup and that frog hopping race. Why did you stop?"

"I guess I'm not much of a competitor," shrugged Marshall, folding his paws over each other and laying down. "Helping people is all I really want to do. I did it before because it was fun, but now that I'm older I really just want to focus on my job and spending time with you guys."

"If that's the case, why are we going to this National Firedog's Championship?" asked Chase, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I want to learn more," said Marshall, standing up straight. "These are the best firedogs all over the world, Chase! I may be good, but these are from top cities like New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Huston, Denver, and Costal City. I wanna learn more about being a firedog from those who have more experience than me. Even if I don't win, I want to learn something so I can apply it back home. Maybe save more lives even."

Chase stared at Marshall for a long time as a proud smile slowly decorated his lips. "You really are a good dog, Marshall. Sometimes I think you have more passion being a member of Paw Patrol then I do."

"Says the dog who can recite the Paw Patrol Rules and Regulation Manual in his sleep," joked Marshall which earned him a shove. The two friends chuckled just as the doors opened behind them and Skye appeared.

"Hey you two," greeted Skye as she walked over and gave Chase a kiss on the cheek. "Ryder's go Star Wars playing. You wanna see it?"

"Do you even need to ask?!" howled the two best friends as they rushed forward to watch the movie.

* * *

Travis could remember every event of the fire on the cruise ship easily. Every face he recognized and what their fate would be that terrible night. Which is why he was doing his best not to punch the face in front of him. Nathanial Dalton was once a lieutenant in the Fire Department Latter 31. The problem was he was the biggest brown noser you would ever find. He rose through the ranks because he appealed to the rich, powerful, and those higher above his status like a sycophant. While most real and decent firemen were doing their duty and never accepted rewards for their work, Nathanial had done so with glee and from their he got connections.

On the fire that claimed his parents' life, his father sacrificed himself risking to save everyone he could on the lower levels including the workers and lower class. If he had gotten back up, he would have possibly made it. Instead, the acting Captain Dalton decided to focus on saving the rich and powerful and getting them to safety when the fire was nowhere near them.

Dalton wasn't responsible for his parent's death, he knew there were others to blame for that, but Travis couldn't find it in him to like a man who was willing to save those who would help his career then those who needed him most.

Travis stared at the business suit wearing man in front of him with greased back brown shaved hair and red timed glasses he fuddled with. "Travis, we've gone over this a hundred times. I cannot raise the threat level yet until we know the demons have returned."

"A week ago I had stopped a fire started by magic. And this wasn't the good wiccan kind of magic, this was the demonic. The patterns and symbols used were ones my family has found many times by firestarters who are ordered by demons." Travis leaned forward. "They are coming back. You need to prepare the city. Cancel this tournament and prepare for their return."

"Travis, it's tourist season. If we lock things down, we'll lose a lot of the income we make from these tourists. Plus, the tournament is now seen as a tradition among our citizens. Think of all the hearts we would break," pointed out Mayor Dalton.

 _Or the sponsors who would be angry,_ thought Travis as he rolled his eyes. "Can you at least have the rescue teams on alert."

"I see no harm in that, but you have to do something for me," said Mayor Dalton as he leaned back with a smirk on his face.

Narrowing his eyes, Travis growled, "What is it?"

"You have to appear at the Tournament tomorrow. I'm not asking you to say any speeches, but you have to appear at the tournament and give the winner the trophy personally," stated the mayor. "Think of the dog's happy expression when they are given it."

"… fine," sighed Travis, getting out of his chair and making for the door. Just as he opened it, he blinked upon seeing Ember, without her uniform, raising her paw to knock. "Oh, Ember. Hello."

"Sir," said Ember, saluting. "I hope you will be coming to the tournament tomorrow to watch me perform. I've trained for years to show you what I've got to be your partner and I hope you choose me."

"We'll see, Ember," said Travis as he exited the building. "Is there a reason you are here?"

"Ember is the best firedog in Costal City. She's not only broken the Fastest Firepup record when she was young, but some of your father's dog records too," said Mayor Dalton with pride as Ember puffed her chest out. "She's the most likely to win this year, and the one we've put exceptional training into."

"Plus, I'm as pure of a breed as you will get. My family has been serving firefighters for years," said Ember. "I'm the best and that's a fact."

Travis looked at Ember and then at Dalton. "It takes more than training and beating records to be a good firedog."

The other two stared at him as he walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN:**_ ** _People keep asking me when I'm going to do Zuma's Courage or Everest Gone Missing. Both are in the final stages of being planned out at the moment, but as for when I will do one of them. I've decided to do this. Once either Falling For My Best Friend or Puppy Love Moments 2 is completed I'll work on one of them and when the other fic is done I'll do the second. Partners In Fire is still going to be updated even when these two fics come up. Please don't sent requests on which one you want to see, I'll be making the choice on my own. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter._**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

When Costal City finally came into view, the dogs were amazed by the sight of it. While Sirius Island had some big cities, such as the capital known as Romulus Port, it paled in comparison to the size of Costal City. You could fit two Adventure Bay's and it still wouldn't be enough. It made the pups wonder what kind of size and shape the other famous cities of America were like such as New York City, Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco.

A few of Marshall's nerves shot up as he gulped at the size of the population down below. He was going to have to compete in front of all these people? _Is it too late to quit?_ He thought but shook his head of such thoughts. _No, bad Marshall. You can do this._

The Paw Patroler soon began to descend on top of one of the buildings with a helipad waiting for them. A man in a nice black suit and a few bellhops that were waiting for them below, indicating they were landing on some grand hotel. After getting back into their seats and buckling up, they waited for the Paw Patroler to land and slowly turn back into its land mode before Ryder allowed them to exit. When they did, the man in the suit walked over while the bellhops were all pointing at the Paw Patroler in amazement.

"Mr. Ryder I assume?" asked the man as he shook hands with Ryder. "My name is Jonathan Preston, I'm the head of this hotel. Your mayor did say you like to arrive in fashion but this takes the cake." He then looked at the six dogs and nodded. "I take it this is your team?"

"Yup, these are my dogs and best friends," introduce Ryder as the dogs all barked a hello. "Are our rooms prepared?"

"I'll be guiding you to your rooms myself. We made sure to put you all on the same floor and share at least two beds each. My bellhops will take care of your baggage," said Jonathan as he motioned Ryder to follow him while ordering his employees to do their tasks.

The bellhops, who were given access to the Paw Patrol, were in for a surprise when they saw Robodog barking a hello at them. It took them ten minutes to stop gawking before they remembered their jobs.

* * *

"This is awesome! Woohoo!" shouted Rubble as he jumped onto one of the bed he and Zuma were given in their room. Bouncing up and down, he did a few flips before landing on his pillow with a comfortable sigh. "Oh, these beds are amazing. I could sleep on this forever."

"Dude, check out the services!" shouted Zuma as he looked at the list provided for them. "Room service. Cable. Games. Masseuse. Dog walker. So much awesomeness, dude!"

"Well, Ryder said we can't abuse the service. We're only here for a few days," said Rubble, but then a thought came to him. "But he didn't say anything about abuse that high class bath with extra side nozzles that give that hot tub feeling! Good thing I brought my extra bubble soap and rubber ducky!"

Zuma chuckled as he saw the construction pup dig through his bag for his bath items. "Well, you enjoy your small little bath. I'm going to crash at that big pool we saw outside the hotel. Bet a few hot babes are there too."

"You're such a dog, Zuma," laughed Rubble, sticking his head out. "Why don't you just settle down with one girl like Chase has?"

"I'd like to do that, really," mused Zuma as he thought about him and some cute dog that he could go steady with. "But it's hard to find a dog who has what I want. The only one who matches all that would be Everest." He gave a knowing smirk. "And we all know who she cares for."

"Yeah, but he doesn't see it. If it wasn't for the fact that he has black spots instead of stripes, I would swear he was a zebra!" laughed Rubble as Zuma laughed with him.

* * *

Once they had been shown their rooms, Skye had wanted to test the bed out by having Chase lay on top of her and kiss the life out of her. The two held paws as Chase showed of his domination side by squeezing Skye between himself and the bed like a sandwich; all while his tongue was having its way with her mouth and licking her face with affection.

They didn't know why they got two beds since one was going to be enough. They had come far into their relationship to the point where sleeping next to each other was quite common. Chase would often go to her room at night and stay there until early morning, making sure none were the wiser of their night habits. At first it was just cuddling, licking, and nuzzling. Then came the hardcore kissing, and then finally they mated for the first time two years ago. It was still an experience that neither of them could forget, but to Chase it meant the most to him. While most dogs these days preferred weddings and ceremonies to have their unions, Chase was old school.

He believed in the concept of "one mate, one life", meaning that you only had one mate and when you mated with her, you were hers and she was yours forever. Skye accepted this, following the mindset their ancestors used to have as both she and Chase swore that they would be each other's only mate. _I really hope those walls are soundproof for tonight,_ thought Chase as he felt his tail flick against Skye's rear end.

"Hey, Chase?" asked Skye, interrupting their little make out session. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Chase as he slowly got up and lay down next to her, smiling. "What's up?"

"… do you wanna get married?" asked Skye, looking up at him.

Chase's eyes nearly bulged out. "M-married?"

Slowly getting up, Skye placed a paw on his and gave a soft smile. "Chase, we've been together for years and been friends longer than that. I've risked life and death with you on so many occasions, and I trust you with my heart and body. We've mated. We've declared our love. I think-no-I know we were meant to be together. So I want to marry you, and maybe even start a family together. What do you say?"

Chase's open mouth slowly closed as he felt a large smile slowly decorate his face. "Skye… to be honest I've wanted to ask you to marry me for a while. I just didn't know how to say it. Yes! Let's get married!" He held her in his embrace as the two of them snuggled into the pillow. "I promise you, Skye. I'll be the best husband ever. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Chase," whispered Skye. "Let's hold off on telling the others until the tournament is over. This is Marshall's moment after all."

"Agreed. Now how about we get back to what we were doing, only you stay on top," growled Chase with a smirk as Skye grinned back and went to work on him.

* * *

Ryder decided to check up on Marshall and Rocky who were paw wrestling to see who would get the bed closer to the mini-fridge. After watching with amusement for a short while, he chuckled upon Rocky flipping Marshall over with a little Pup-Fu move he learned from Sensei Yumi. Marshall groaned as he saw starts spinning around his head before shaking himself out of his stupor. "I'm okay, but I guess I lost."

"Sorry, Marshall," said Rocky as he jumped on to his bed and claimed it as his own. "All's fair in love and war." Rocky then turned to the doorway where he saw Ryder. "Hi, Ryder, What's up?"

"Just thought I'd check on you pups. Zuma and Rubble are having fun, and we can all guess what Chase and Skye are doing," said Ryder, earning a knowing smirk from the other two. "So I figured we could spend some time together and check out the city. What do you say?"

"Cool! Think we can get to the Lugna Tower on our way?" asked Rocky with stars in his eyes.

"What's the Lugna Tower?" asked Marshall, tilting his head as Rocky stared at him like he had just been told there was no Easter Bunny.

"You're never heard of Lugna Industries?! It's like one of the biggest and most technically advance companies in the world! They have their hands in everything from science to military to vehicle safety to rescue responders!" explained Rocky. "They're dedicated to making sure all of mankind is safe and advances without fear."

"We even use technology they created in the Lookout," explained Ryder, crossing his arms. "Heck, I was even offered a job once to work for one of their smaller off site division on Sirus Island."

That didn't surprise either of the pups. Ryder had been born a genius, selling whatever inventions he had to companies for great costs that helped fund Paw Patrol. Many groups from businesses, Think Tanks, and even the military wanted to hire him for a job, but Ryder's dream of Paw Patrol was all he ever wanted to focus on.

"Sadly, the Lugna Tower is too far away and I don't want us to explore the area to far. Just in the immediate vicinity," said Ryder as he pulled out his Pup Pad and pulled out a map. "Well go around a few blocks and see what's around. Sound good?"

"Yes, sir!" said Marshall and Rocky as they followed their owner out.

* * *

"Wow, I've never seen so many dogs before," said Marshall as they roamed the streets. So far they had seen buildings just as tall or taller than their hotel while also finding many places to eat or shop in the future with the rest of the gang. But the one thing that stood out the most was that dogs had a more active role in the city then they are used to seeing.

Having been on Sirius Island all their life (or most of their life for Marshall), seeing so many dogs was exciting for the two. There were sales dogs, police dogs, constructor dogs, dogs walking with businessmen and so forth. It was ironic that they were from an island named after a dog star, but these people seemed more trusting and friendly with their dogs then back home.

"Man, I wouldn't be surprised if a dog could run for mayor in this town," muttered Marshall, looking around.

Ryder looked at his Pup Pad and saw that there was supposed to be some kind of monument dedicated to a famous hero in this town. Deciding to take a look, they were amazed again to see that it was a dog, only he looked to be in some kind of armor. "Holy Iron Dog, he looks cool!" cried out Rocky.

"And he's a dalmatian just like me!" barked Marshall.

The statue was of a dalmatian who looked to be in a combined version of SWAT armor and Fireman's armor, combined with a helmet by his paws that was built for the dog that looked like a fireman's but had a black visor and guard mask. Yet there was a medieval knight like look to it on the shoulders and greaves, combined with a Celtic Trinity symbol that was seen on the armor. That was what got Marshall's attention the most as he slowly reached for his pendant and looked at the symbol. It was the same one.

 _That doesn't mean anything,_ thought Marshall. _This symbol is used by a lot of people and dogs for different reasons._

"Who was he?" asked Rocky, trying to get a look at the dog's name but there was a huge crowd taking pictures.

"According to my info his name was Axel. He died a few years ago and was some hero with a partner of his named Luther," replied Ryder as he looked for more info. He then turned to Marshall who was staring at the statue with uncertainty. "Marshall? Is everything ok?"

"Huh? Oh, well," muttered Marshall, as he gripped his pendant tighter. "I don't know. I feel…"

He was cut off when something that sounded and explosion went off a few blocks down. The three were nearly knocked off their feet or paws as civilians screamed and ran away from the area. Looking to his right, Marshall could see smoke emitting from a nearby building where he could see the tips of flames.

"Ryder! Fire!" shouted Marshall, his owner getting up and already seeing the situation.

"We don't have our pup packs or vehicles!" shouted Rocky as he tried to avoid panicking people from running into him.

Sirens could be heard in the distance as Marshall listened in. "Those sound like fire sirens! Plus, Police and Ambulance too! Thank goodness!" His optimism was soon shattered when something happened that made his jaw drop, he was pretty sure both Rocky and Ryder were also staring in amazement. A thick green energy cone suddenly surrounded the area of where the explosion came from and a few feet. From where they could see, it prevented people who were behind the wall from getting out as they smashed into it or banged on it in an effort to break it open. Cars even smashed into it and nothing happened.

Rushing further upward for a closer look, they could see a few police cars try to get through but they ended up smashed. Rocky, who took a closer look at the green shield, said, "It looks like some kind of force field! And that fire is spreading fast!"

Marshall could see it already spreading from one building to another, very similar to the fire that happened with that one… _thing_ that he saw. "Ryder, we have to do something!"

"Already on it, Marshall. No job is too big, no pup is too small!" shouted Ryder as he activated the call all button.

" _Paw Patrol! To the Paw Patroler!"_


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN:**_ ** _So here is when things start to kick up. Before people ask, no Marshall and Travis don't meet up in this chapter, but they do come close. I'm still building that up for that moment. In case things have gotten confusing here is a recap:_**

 ** _Marshall was originally Travis's pup years ago, but was lost at sea in an incident in a cruise ship where both Travis and Marshall lost their parents. Marshall was believed to be dead as well, but he survived and landed on Sirius Island where I have Adventure Bay taking place. Marshall lost his memory and was adopted by Ryder and Chase (who was Ryder's first pup) and served as the fire pup of Paw Patrol. Travis, meanwhile, left his home city to travel around the world to learn skills and talents to take up his family legacy while also attending school abroad. Travis is back because he feels he is ready to take his place as protector of Costal City. Marshall, meanwhile, is in the city with his friends and owner to take part in a firedog tournament. During this time, Marshall has come into contact with a demon that has been starting unnatural fires in Adventure Bay while Travis stopped a magic spell with his own power. Now a similar incident is occurring._**

 ** _I also have seen Air Pups at last. First off, Ryder is a fucking genius to make all that stuff. Second, I've decided I like Rocky's previous voice actor then this new one. I'm sorry, but it sounds too girly. Third, I know that I wrote that the Paw Patroler turned into a flying mode sort of modeled after the Virtibirds from Fallout. In this story, Ryder never invented the Air Gear, but I will use it as inspiration._**

 ** _Before we begin, I'd like those who have read my Marshall Gone Missing story to know that the trailer for Everest Gone Missing can be seen at the latest chapter of that fic. Please read and tell me what you think of it._**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

Needless to say, the dogs back in the hotel were a bit upset their fun was ruined but duty called and they were on their way to the Paw Patroler. Zuma was the last to make it due being on the bottom floor, and when he finally arrived the gang quickly changed into their packs and suited up. Entering the hub area, the team looked around for Ryder, Marshall, and Rocky but saw no sign of them.

"That's funny, I thought Ryder called us here for an emergency?" asked Skye, looking confused.

The TV screen behind them turned on and the pups saw Ryder in the city with the sounds of chaos and sirens in the background. _"I did call for you, Skye. Marshall, Rocky, and I are in the city. We were walking around, when an explosion happened."_

"Are you guys alright?" asked Chase in concern.

" _We're fine, but something happened that… well, check it out…"_ said Ryder as he turned his Pup Pad. The dogs all gasped and their eyes widened at the sight of the green force field that was keeping rescue workers out from getting in and helping those inside.

"What the heck is that?!" asked Rubble, his eyed wide at the size of the thing.

" _We don't know, but it's blocking the firefighters and police from helping. I know we came to relax and cheer for Marshall, but we're still Paw Patrol"_ reaffirmed Ryder. _"The shield blocks everything but the top of the area. So we can use the Paw Patroler to fly over the shield. Think you can do it Robo-Dog?"_

The robot canine barked in response while the lights in his head made a thumbs up. _"Great!"_ said Ryder, as the screen showed the Paw Patroler heading towards the area and over the green shield. _"Once the Paw Patroler enters the area, Skye will use her chopper to assess the area and see what's going on in the area. Chase, I need you to land with your Police Cruiser and with both Marshall and Rocky's Pup Packs. Rubble, bring your digger. We're going to use both of your vehicles to see if we can break this shield. Zuma, I need you to drive Marshall's firetruck to start using it on the fire. Understood?"_

"Roger, Ryder!" shouted the group with a few howls.

" _Alright, Paw Patrol is on a role!"_ shouted Ryder as he cut the feed.

"You heard Ryder, Robo-Dog! Step on it!" shouted Chase with a bark.

Robot-Dog barked back as he turned the Paw Patrol into its Virtibird mode and started the engines up. Before long, the Paw Patroler was in the air and making for the coordinates that Ryder and set.

* * *

After his board meeting with the Directors, Travis had asked Rodrick to drive him to the mansion that he hadn't seen in years. While the Lugna Tower was capable of holding up to ten individuals for living in its top floors, the Lugna Mansion had been the home Travis had grown up in. He had been born here, as had Marshall as a pup, the two of them could be seen all the time running these halls playing games and chasing each other in a game of tag.

After his parents' death, the place had been collecting dust for years. All of the furniture was covered with white sheets as were the art work and expensive painting. Despite this, it was still something to admire both inside and out. It had a wide open field due to being miles away from the city, and was large enough to rival the mayor's mansion in terms of size.

Travis slowly entered the Grand Hall where he could remember all the times his parents held parties including his and Marshall's birthday. The two were both born on the same month and day, just not the same year. It was because of that detail that the two had seen each other as brothers, even if they weren't of the same race. Heading towards the stairs, Travis placed a hand on the railing as Rodrick waited below while his young master made it up each step. Travis could just imagine the vague images of Marshall and him sliding down the railing and being yelled at by their parents or racing upstairs to try out the new toys they had gotten for Christmas.

Making it to the second level, he turned left where the bedrooms were. He dared not go into his parents' room, he wasn't ready for that. Instead, he kept going until he reached the third door to his right. He stared at the sign that was in front that shared both his name and Marshall's were there in gold.

Closing his eyes, he slowly reached for the knob… and pulled it back while taking deep breaths. "Shit… shit!" shouted Travis in anger as he punched the door. "Why? Why can't I just move on?!"

He pounded the door a few times before he growled and pushed off, making his way downstairs. He reached the bottom as Rodrick was looking at a tablet. "We're going home. Let's go," muttered Travis.

"Master Travis," said Rodrick with worry as he stopped his master. "You need to see this."

He handed Travis over the tablet as he looked at the news report with wide eyes. Another fire in the city, only this time there was a magical shield over it. Travis didn't need to be told what this was. He was already making his way towards the doors. "We have to move. It's time to suit up."

"Yes, sir!" shouted Rodrick as he followed the teenager. They were about to enter their car when Travis stopped suddenly with confusion on his face. "Something the matter sir?"

"Yeah," said Travis as he showed Rodrick the tablet. The news was now showing a giant flying machine like vehicle that looked the cross between a large van and a military transport aircraft with scimitar propellers. What caught his eye most was the logo on it. Highlighting it with his fingers he had the search engine look up the logo.

He got a few results, but they only raised more questions. "Who the hell is Paw Patrol?"

* * *

When Ryder and the pups saw the Paw Patroler making their way over the shield, they were glad to see that they were able to cross over it. Landing just outside of the shield, the pups came out with their vehicles except for Zuma who drove Marshall's fire truck. Him and Skye were already making their way towards the nearest building that was burning from the fire.

The police blockade didn't want Marshall and his pups crossing over at first, but upon proving that those were indeed his pups and he was a licensed rescue worker, they allowed it. Ryder pressed his hand against the shield and frowned. "What do you think is making this? Some kind of energy generator?"

"No way, we haven't invented that kind of technology yet," said Rocky, examining it. "At least, not that I've heard."

"Well, whatever it is, we need to break it down and get inside," said Marshall.

The three of them saw Chase and Rubble drive to the other side of the shield where they were. Rubble lead with his digger and lifted up the shovel blade, seeing if he could break through the shield. It bounced off a few times before the contstruction dog gave up.

"Permission to use firearms, sir?" asked Chase with a series look.

"Permission granted," said Ryder as he and the dogs stood back.

"Ruff! Machine guns!" shouted Chase as two small caliber guns came out of the front of his cruiser and loaded up. "Fire!"

The bullets rained upon the shield but they were just as useless. The shells and bullets just became a pile and not a dent was made. "Damn, that's some pretty hard stuff," said Chase with awe.

"Now what?" asked Rocky as Ryder scratched his head.

Marshall, meanwhile, was looking at the burning buildings as he thought about all the people trapped inside who needed their help to get out safely. His passion driving him, he growled at the green shield that stood in their way. "Stupid shield! Ragh!"

As he charged forward, the pendant that Marshall had on him began to glow unbeknownst to him or anybody nearby. With a loud cry he smashed shoulder first into the shield, and it cracked before a small chunk of it shattered into pieces. Marshall, surprised at what he had done, forgot his landing and rolled on the ground before smacking into Chase's car. "I'm okay… ow…" whispered Marshall.

The others just stared at Marshall before looking at the shield's hole that was starting to reform itself. Wasting no time, Ryder grabbed Rocky and dived in, landing on the other side just as it sealed itself shut again.

"Woah! How did you do that, Marshall?" asked Rubble in awe.

Marshall stared at the former hole he had created and then at his own paws in confusion. "I… I don't know?"


	9. Chapter 9

_**AN:**_ ** _Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out. Been focused on other things that I need to take care of first. So this chapter isn't going to be that long._**

 ** _So some of you might be thinking what kind of a suit is it that Travis has that allows him to fight the demons and fire at the same time. If it was possible to show links on this site (I still don't get it why not ) I'd do my best to describe it. Basically think a combination of the Iron Man suit, a SWAT officer, and a fireman but more high tech with advance technology and looks. I'll do my best to describe it on this chapter, but overall feel free to think it in your head._**

 ** _Another thing to keep note of is that the sequel to my first Paw Patrol Fic, Marshall Gone Missing, will be written and posted sometime next week. Might take a while though since I have this new job of mine to deal with and that has to come first. The name of the fic will be "Everest Gone Missing" and it will start off with a bang, I can promise you that._**

 ** _One other thing people have asked me is if I plan to do any other longer stories besides the sequels to my two biggest fics and this one. The answer is yes, but I'm not going to go into details about those for quite some time._**

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol**_

* * *

With a hard right turn into the company's garage, Travis's car stopped in front of the elevator that was quickly accessed by the two. Shoot up as fast as it could, Travis went over everything he needed to prepare for the mission ahead. This was the first time he would be taking the Navan Suit out instead of a simulation. He was both nervous and excited at the same time, but most of all he was focused.

The doors to the top floor finally opened as Travis, with Rodrick behind him, rushed over to the Launching Room. Pressing his hand against the scanner, he waited until the light turned green and the door opened. He paused, looking at the mostly white circular room with silver metal squares both on the wall and the floor. He took a deep breath and turned to Rodrick who nodded.

"You can do this, sir. Your father and mother would be proud of you," said Rodrick. "As would the dogs."

"I hope they're watching me," whispered Travis as he walked inside just as the door closed behind him.

He walked over to the middle room and closed his eyes, and waited. Suddenly, a digital voice came on and asked, _"Recite the verse."_

"Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever," answered Travis, the coded psalm from the bible. It was the activation code to access the suit.

" _Verse accepted. Preparing to suit up."_

The silver metal parts of the wall soon opened up as various pieces of a black and red mixed suit began to appear, held by metal appendences. Spreading his arms and legs, Travis allowed the machines to place them on his body as they soon connected to each other and locked in place. Piece by piece fitted like a zig-saw puzzle as each important system began to activate. Finally, the helmet was placed. While outfitted with powerful gauntlets, greaves, like that of a sci-fi warrior, his chest plate was a mix between a fireman's coat and a SWAT officer's chest guard. His helmet, although designed like a fireman's, covered his entire face with black tinted glass for the eyes and a heave mouth guard that was connected to a giant pack on his back. It was like looking at the cross between a jetpack and a mobile military pack only this one had two oxygen tanks, a giant water tank with a spray nozzle that could be whipped out in time, and finally two jet engines with exhausts.

" _Navan Suit prepared and ready for battle."_

Looking above, Travis saw the celing slowly open up to reveal the clear blue sky. His computer system began to act up and appear on his screen's interface as his radio suddenly turned on. _"Master Travis? Can you hear me?"_

"Loud and clear, all systems are green on my end," replied Travis.

" _Green on mine too. The fire isn't too far from where you are, sir. So you should be there in less than fifteen minutes,"_ answered Rodrick.

"I'll be there in ten," answered Travis as he activated the boosters. The rockets behind him lit up and slowly lifted him off the ground until he was outside.

Once he tasted the air, he zoomed up more upwards before turning around and flying in the direction of the crisis according to his map.

* * *

Although the dogs were curious to figure out how Marshall was able to break the barrier, they had more important things to do. The first thing Ryder did was call Skye back so that Rocky could help him modify her chopper and gave her a spare water tank Marshall had on his truck. Using some of the tools in his truck, Rocky was able to allow Skye's chopper to shoot water with a homemade water cannon. Only took him seven minutes to make.

With that done, Marshall and Skye teamed up to put out the nearby fires in the area by spraying from the top and bottom and working their way to the middle together. Most of the buildings were small and many of the people had gotten out by the time they heard the first explosion. Those few that were trapped inside were easily rescued by Marshall while Zuma helped him with the hose. Ryder, Rubble, and Chase all got the civilians to head to a safe place far from the fires while Rocky helped calm things down for the panicking civilians.

However, a problem soon arrived when Skye reported something strange. _"Ryder! Something is weird with these flames!"_

"What's wrong with them, Skye?" asked Ryder from his puppad while he, Marshall, and Zuma were firing hoses at a neatly put out fire in an ally.

" _I keep spraying the fire with water, but the fire isn't going down. It looks no different from the rest of the fires, but it's not going down at all. It's like the water just disappears before it even touches the flames."_

"That is strange," whispered Marshall, who couldn't recall such a thing. "Even if it was superhot the water should have done something."

" _Hold on. I'm seeing something… that's weird…."_

"What is it?" asked Ryder, urgently.

" _It's some kind of star symbol on in the center of the top of the building. It's glowing red and the flames aren't surrounding it. I'm going to go for a closer-AUGH!"_

"Skye!" Shouted everybody on the open com.

" _I'm hit! Something hit my rear! Mayday! Going down! Mayd-"_

Static.

"Skye! Skye answer me! Skye!" shouted Ryder in the puppad.

" _Skye! What's wrong! Skye answer!"_ shouted Chase on the other end. _"Ryder, is she okay?!"_

Ryder quickly checked the life sign detector on his puppad and to his relief it seemed as if she was okay. Her vitals were still strong. "She's alive, Chase. Either she's unconscious or her radio is out. "He then activated the tracker and got the coordinates before turning to Marshall. "Marshall, use your later to find Skye on the building right across from the fire. It doesn't have any flames so you'll be fine. Get her and get out of there. I don't like the sound of this fire that doesn't go down with water."

"On it, Ryder!" shouted Marshall as he and the others retracted the hose and he got into his truck.

" _Marshall, find her and keep her safe. Please,"_ begged Chase on the other line.

"I promise, Chase!" shouted Marshall as he activated his sirens and put his paw to the gas pedal.


	10. Chapter 10

_**AN:**_ ** _Again, I'm sorry this chapter came out late. I have a lot of thins I'm dealing with now. Nothing bad, just work of mine. Personally, I'm worried that I might be stretching myself in the fanfiction that I am doing these days. I'm not giving up on it, I'm just worried that I'm over stretching myself. Anyway, I've done some Zootopia fanfiction so if you are interested in seeing that just check it out on my profile._**

 ** _Now before I begin, people are wondering what am I going to do about Zuma's Courage. When the Puppy Love Moments 2 is done then I will start writing it. That's my answer that statement and nothing more._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

The first thing that Marshall spotted when he saw the fire on the building Skye was across from was the direction of the flames. Fire often turned its direction based on the way the wind was blowing. Currently, Marshall could feel the wind going southwest. The fire in the building across from them was going upwards into the sky. _How the heck is that possible?_ Thought Marshall as he drove his fire truck across the street and stopped at the building across from the burning one.

There was also the fact of what Skye said before she was shot down. That the fire wasn't going down from the water she kept spraying on it. Putting the truck on park, Marshall quickly summoned up his ladder and had it go to the top of the building, just barely reaching. Marshall activated his oxygen mask for protection as it covered his face from the smoke that was slowly coming towards the other building. Unlike the fire, it was guided by the wind.

Climbing up the latter, Marshall prayed that his friend was alright and not in serious trouble. _Good thing I brought a spare EMT Pack with me just in case._

When he reached the top of the building, he quickly saw Skye's crashed helicopter; thankfully it wasn't on fire but the rear end looked like it got toasted by something hot. Rushing forward, Marshall saw Skye still in the cockpit. She was unconscious, but still breathing. "Hold on, Skye. I'm going to get you out," said Marshall as he grabbed her color by her jaw and carefully began to drag her out. Slowly, he managed to get her out and lay her on her back. He quickly began to check to see if there was any other external injuries as well as feel for internal ones. _No scars. No broken bones. Insides are in place. Seems to be breathing normal. My best guess is that she hit her head and fell unconscious. Might have to check for head damage or concussion possibilities after this._

He was about to report to Ryder when something made his instincts scream. Trusting them, he rolled to the side just as something hot and burning passed by his ear and he quickly looked up only to gasp at what he saw. A fireball, one the side of his head, slam into the helicopter and caused it to explode. Marshall quickly shielded Skye from the blast while closing his eyes, the ringing of the explosion echoing in his ears before it faded. He opened his eyes, the helicopter completely totaled beyond repair.

Nervously looking behind him, Marshall saw what looked to be a young adult human in a gray and black hoodie, black pants, fingerless gloves, and a black bandana with a white pentagram on it, but upside down. "W-Who are you!" shouted Marshall, growling as she showed his teeth. Everything about this human felt wrong to him and it wasn't the bad clothing.

Suddenly, his mouth dropped as the human's arms lit up with fire. Marshall was about to pull out his water cannons to help the human, but he realized the flames weren't consuming him. In fact, if Marshall had to even guess, he was creating the flames from his own hands. _How is that even possible?!_ Thought Marshall as even logical conclusion he tried to think of ended up being shot down before it could began.

The human roared and shot one of his fists out, sending another fireball towards Marshall. Yelping, Marshall jumped out of the way as it flew past him. Wasting no time, Marshall charged forward. Weird power or not, it was clear this guy was trying to burn him alive and that made him a threat.

The human fired another fireball, but Marshall wasn't one of the fastest and agile pups on the team for nothing. He jumped and even did a few flips in avoiding the fireball, focusing on the direction of the human's fists. It reminded him of the training Sensei Yumi had taught him in Pup-Fu on how to read the attacks of your opponents before they stuck. It was the same thing here, just for a distance rather then close range.

Marshall dodged another fireball before barking twice and shouting, "Water Cannon!" The water cannons came out of his back and fired at the human. Lifting his arms, a wall of flames came out of nowhere and blocked the stream of water, causing steam to appear. Marshall knew that there was no way any fire could be made out of nothing. At least nothing natural.

Meaning this was _supernatural._ He had played enough fantasy games and seen enough cartoons to know what this was. As impossible as it might seem, he was dealing with someone who could use _magic._ Marshall had only ever seen magic used before once when he was a pup and that was when a merpup turned Rocky, Skye, and Zuma into merpups like her to rescue her child. Since then, he had never seen magic used again.

Until now.

 _Chase and Rocky are never gonna believe this,_ thought Marshall as he refocused on the human as the steam faded.

The human muttered a few curses before lighting his hands with fire again. This time Marshall was ready and fired his water cannons, hitting the human in the face and knocking him back. Seeing a chance, Marshall rushed forward and jumped, kicking the human in the face. He saw the flames leave the human's hands and took advantage of this. Landing, he grabbed the human's arm and twisted it with his body, forcing the human to flip over and land on his back with a loud thud.

The human, however, counted by lifting its knee and hitting Marshall across his head, breaking his grip on the arm. Marshall was dazed but soon recover just quick enough to roll and dodge a downward punch that managed to leave a scorched mark on the ceiling. Marshall jumped back to gain some distance and tried to think of another way to attack when heard the sound of groaning.

Looking towards Skye, he saw that she was waking up and held her head in pain before looking up. "M-Marshall? What's happening? Wh-Holy Heaven, are those arms on fire?!"

The human, seeing a new target, raised its hands and Marshall quickly realized what was going to happen. "Skye! Get out of there!" A fireball, bigger than any yet, fired from the human's hands towards a stunned Skye who was too shocked to move. _"Skye!"_

She closed her eyes and waited for the fireball's impact only it never came. Instead, something blocked it with its metal body, a suit of armor that took the blow and didn't even get a mark from it. Marshall's jaw dropped a second time but this time even the human appeared to be surprised by the way it stepped back, almost in fright. Skye opened her eyes and looked up at her savior, some kind of metallic man in armor that represented by SWAT and a firefighter. (See previous chapter for details again)

" _You dogs stand down, I'll take it from here,"_ said Travis inside his Navan Suit.

* * *

Travis was impressed by the way the fire dog managed to handle himself in the fight. Although he couldn't see his face due to the oxygen mask, Travis could tell he must have been scared from the entire fight. _Makes sense, he's probably never seen Black Magic before._

Focusing on the burning human who was backing up in fright, Travis slowly walked forward intending on taking him down. _He must be the one controlling the spell. Take him out and the spell fades._ While most would think that ending a human life would be wrong, this human was already doomed for selling his soul to those who could grant the power of Black Magic. Killing him would not just be a favor, but it would end this madness.

The cursed human roared as the flames from its arms began to increase in intensity and heat according to his scanner. While the Navan suit was built for dealing with fires, he didn't want the flames to hurt the two dogs and activated his boosters. The human barely had time to react when Travis shoulder tackled him and sent him back a few feet along with the sound of cracked rips. The cursed human got up as quickly as he could, but blood could be seen dripping from his masked mouth.

He growled and slammed his hands together as two more pentagrams appears beside him. From their center, giant flames swirled above him and then made for Travis. However, Travis pulled out his water cannon gun with both hands and fired, the water easily dousing the flames before they could even touch him. Travis could see that the fire dog was looking at his own water cannon and the one the dog had to see what was the difference. The difference was not the equipment, but the water. Normal fire could be taken out by normal water. But in the case of demonic fire, you needed holy water for that.

 _And I got the best supply blessed from the river of Jordon,_ thought Travis as he aimed the cannon at the human who looked stunned.

Firing another blast, he managed this time knock the human to the ledge where he quickly grabbed it to prevent himself from falling to his doom. Not that it was going to delay anything as Travis put his gun away for his axe. He slowly walked over to the barely clinging human who looked at him with fear.

This was not going to be his first kill. He had done that during the event that took everything he loved. This human, this foolish man, choose of his own free will to join with those same forces. A force of evil that had nothing but lies, deception, and death for those who followed regardless of victory or defeat.

" _May you forever regret your choice in the nine circles of hell,"_ answered Travis before he raised his axe and sent it down upon the man's hand and chopped it off. The human screamed as he fell down from the building and all that was left of him when he landed was a broken body and growing pool of red liquid.

Lifting his head up, Travis saw that the fire was instantly gone, it's spell user dead. The shield surrounding the area was fading as well, allowing the rescue workers to finally enter. _Although this Paw Patrol group did a good job holding down the fort as it were._

"You… you killed him…" Travis heard as he slowly turned around and saw the stunned masked dalmatian. "W-why?"

" _You're new to this town so I guess nobody has told you. But short version, that guy caused this fire with black magic. Magic he got from demons,"_ answered Travis as he put his axe away. _"And the only way to get that magic is to sell your soul to them. He was already dead the moment he agreed to whatever deal with them."_

"D-demons… just like…" whispered the dalmatian but then this head shot up and he rushed over to the cockapoo who looked scared out of her wits. "Skye! Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, just… can I get back to Chase… please?" whimpered Skye, shivering.

 _Guess I can't blame her,_ thought Travis as he saw the dalmatian contact somebody named Ryder, their owner he assumed. He looked at the destruction that the fire caused and narrowed his eyes. _So it begins._

Activating his boosters, he soon lifted himself off the ground and flew back in the direction of Lugna Tower.


	11. Chapter 11

_**AN:**_ ** _I'm sure there are some people wondering why Travis didn't recognize Marshall. If you look back in the previous chapter, you will read that Marshall had his oxygen mask on which covered most of his face so Travis wouldn't have recognized him. Another argument could have been that he would have recognized Marshall's voice, only our voices change as we get older due to puberty._**

 ** _So yes, we have magic and demons in this story. There is a very heavy set of Christian overtones for this story as well but don't worry I'm not going to go anything into social issues like abortion or gay marriage or things like that. That's not what this story is about._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

When the fires mysterious stopped and the shield had finally come down, first respondents arrived to take care of the situation. While Ryder had to explain who they were to some of the authorities to make sure that there wasn't any trouble for them, the dogs were huddled together near the Paw Patroller as Marshall and Skye told them what happened. Needless to say, the viewers were mixed.

"Black Magic?" asked Chase with a raised eyebrow. "Marshall, there is no such thing as magic. It's a fairy tale."

"You thought merpups weren't real either. We've seen magic before, Chase," pointed out Rubble as he nodded to Skye, Zuma, and Rocky. "They were turned into merpups with magic."

"Yeah, but," Chase shook his head. "Look, turning into something else via a touch on the nose? Fine, I get that. But flames coming out of your hands and summoning them from nowhere? That's just crazy!"

"Normally, I would agree, Chase," said Skye, who got up and nuzzled her mate. "But I saw what I saw. And if that wasn't magic, then I don't know what was."

Chase opened his mouth, but then closed it upon seeing how serious his mate looked. "Okay, let's put the magic thing aside. Here is a bigger question, who was that guy that save you two?!"

"I know! He flew!" shouted Rocky with excitement. "We could see him from here! The suit he had looked so advance! Like Iron Man! I really wish I could analyze it!"

"Dude could have stayed to explain what was going on," said Zuma.

Marshall bit his lip. For some reason, hearing that metal man's voice made him feel… weird. Like something in his head was telling him to talk to the man, but he was reluctant to do so. Seeing him kill that fire wielding human was a bit unsettling. _But the way he said that his soul was gone… could that be true?_ Marshall had always believed there were such things as gods, angels, and demons. He was a very open minded dog when it came to these things. If the human in the metal suit said that this power came from demons did that mean all magic was evil? Could this human have been saved or was he doomed? And if he did sell his soul, why?

Marshall's thoughts once again turned towards that demon he saw back home in the fire. Combined with this incident here and Marshall could feel it that something was changing. He needed to talk to Ryder about this in private.

Speaking of which, Ryder soon arrived and the dogs all lined up in attention. "Well, we're free to go. We all answered their questions and Skye is well enough that we can take her home, right Marshall?"

"Aside from maybe having a few headaches for a few hours, yeah," said the dalmatian.

"Then let's head back into the Air Patroller and get back to our rooms. I think we can all use some rest," said Ryder as he and the dogs entered the Paw Patroller. It soon took off in Veritibird mode and left the scene of the incident behind them.

* * *

After returning home and getting congratulations from Rodrick, Travis decided to get the combat data his suit had and make sure everything went smoothly. He sat on the couching his tower's living room on the top floor and watched the new report about the fire. They were keeping the whole "magic and demon" angle on a low key, but his name had been mentioned and a shot of him flying in the suit meant that everybody knew they were back.

 _And I have to stop them,_ thought Travis, bitterly. _Alone._

He heard the elevator open and thought it was Rodrick returning with the data. When he turned around he was surprised to see a female Golden Labrador in a labcoat while carrying a tablet in her mouth. "Um…"

"Oh, hi! Sir! Master! Boss! Or… um," the Golden Labrador looked nervous and began saluting. She dropped the tablet as a result and blushed. "Um, sorry." She picked it up and walked over, presenting it to Travis. "You kinda surprised me there. I'm… well, um…"

"Doctor Lyra?" asked Travis surprising the Golden Lab.

"Y-y-yes! I am! How did you know?" asked Doctor Lyra in shock.

"Your name tag," said Travis, pointing to it on the lab coat.

"Oh, right…" Doctor Lyra sighed and lowered her head. "S-s-sorry! I don't interact with people that much. I work most of the time in my lab with my equipment. I really should have met you sooner, sir, since I am the head scientist behind your Navan Suit's function, weapons, armor, and data gathering, but I was really shy about meeting you. I mean, I have heard of you and what you went through, very sorry about that, but I do admire you and I know I would have to work with you eventually. So when Rodrick said you needed the combat data from earlier today I figured now is the best time and here I am rambling and looking ready to pee on your carpet because I am… that nervous… sir…"

Travis raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Doctor, you can relax. I'm just like everybody else deep inside. And just call me Travis."

"Oh, right," said Doctor Lyra taking a deep breath. "I'll do my best to remember that, sir-I mean, Travis."

Taking the tablet, he began to look at the data and nodded. "Moves smoothly."

"Thanks, the modifications we've made since your late father used it seem to be working perfectly," said Doctor Lyra with pride. "I also managed to finally finish your schematics for the Archangel Tank that you submitted to us two years ago. We'll begin test driving it soon."

"Great work, Doctor Lyra," said Travis, reaching out and petting the smiling mixed breed. "I hope to count on you in the future when this war finally breaks out."

"Thanks, sir-I mean, Travis," said Doctor Lyra as she made her way back to the door. "Also, I'm curious sir. Are the reports that an all dog rescue team helped out, true?"

"Yes," said Travis as he pointed to the TV where the Paw Patroller and scenes of the dogs using their packs were playing. "Seems like they're regular heroes."

"Interesting technology," said Doctor Lyra, observing it. "I'd like to meet with the one who invented all that."

Travis nodded his head. If what his reports on the group were true, then most of the technology was developed by the head of the group, Ryder. He had read about news articles about them including all of his dogs… and the one named Marshall. Travis took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that this wasn't _his_ Marshall. His Marshall would have contacted him if he was alive. His Marshall wouldn't have been able to swim all the way to Adventure Bay. His Marshall was dead.

* * *

Marshall had requested during dinner to speak to Ryder alone when the rest of the dogs had gotten asleep. Since their latest rescue earlier today the dogs had been reacting to it well for the most part. Skye had calmed down, but Chase refused to leave her side and made sure she was okay. Rocky had been searching online for information about the metal man they saw at the request of Ryder, but the mixed breed was already planning to do it. Zuma and Rubble were wondering on the possibility of what kind of magic exists in the world since they believed Marshall and Skye's story.

Magic.

Marshall wondered what kind of magic did exist in the world. He had seen good magic like the Merpup's but today he saw evil magic which, according to the metal man, was from demons. _Demons…_

He put a paw over his pendant. Something about all this was bothering him and he didn't know why. It was like a voice inside of him was telling him something but it was so distant he couldn't hear it clearly.

Arriving at Ryder's door, Marshall knocked and was led in by his owner. "Marshall, I was waiting for you," said Ryder as he closed the door. He sat on his bed while Marshall sat on the floor. "What did you want to talk about?"

"… Ryder, do you really believe me and Skye about the whole… magic thing?" asked Marshall, nervously. "I mean, it may sound completely silly but I swear it's the only thing I can think of."

Ryder was silent for a bit before he nodded his head. "I do believe you, Marshall."

"Really?" asked the dalmatian in shock.

"Yes, I trust you, Marshall. And I know you and Skye would never make it up while acting so serious," said Ryder before he grinned. "Plus, you're really bad at lying."

"Yeah, I can't lie to save my tail," laughed Marshall with a chuckle. His face then turned serious again as he asked, "How do we combat against something as unknown as magic? I mean, we can't look into a Harry Potter book and expect it to be the gospel truth about such things."

Ryder nodded and began to rub his chin. "That is a good question, Marshall. One that I've been trying to figure out myself all day. We know nothing about this… magic, and I doubt we'll find an easy solution to dealing with it." He then smiled and scratched his dog's head. "But we should focus on getting you ready for the tournament tomorrow. It's going to be your big day soon and you should prepare yourself."

"Don't worry, Ryder. I'm fired up!" said Marshall with a bright smile.

"Great, now head off to get some sleep. We'll discuss what to do tomorrow," said Ryder as he opened the door for his friend. "Goodnight, Marshall."

"Night, Ryder," said Marshall as he exited the room and made his way down the hall. Just as he was about to enter his room when he saw Chase's hotel door open and out came the police dog himself. Surprised that he wasn't the only one awake, Chase walked over and smiled.

"Hey, buddy," greeted Chase. "What are you doing up this late?"

"I needed to talk to Ryder about a few things. You?" asked Marshall.

"I'm just going for a stroll. Skye's asleep and as much as I love being her cuddle buddy, I need some time to stretch my legs," explained Chase.

Marshall smiled as he thought of his two friends snuggled together in bed. He always thought it was cute for Chase and Skye to be so in love with each other and it made him wish he had someone like his best friend did. He tried dating once or twice, but it always ended up with him and his klutzy behavior making the date end early.

"By the way, don't tell anybody this yet, but Skye and I are planning to get married!" said Chase with pride.

Marshall gasped with joy. "That's awesome! Congratulations, Chase!"

"Thanks, I'm telling you this because I want you to be the best man at my wedding," said Chase which made Marshall's jaw drop. "Don't look so surprise. There isn't anybody in the world I would ask for thi-oof!"

He was cut off as Marshall hugged him and nuzzled his best friends. "Thank you so much, Chase! I promise to be the best best man ever!"

The two separated as they both said goodnight, Marshall making for his room as he sighed. _I'm really glad I have a best friend like Chase. I hope we stay that way forever._


	12. Chapter 12

_**AN:**_ ** _Hey guys, ready for another chapter? Good! Anyway, a few things to note. I am planning to do a fourth series along with the three I already have, but I won't be starting that for awhile. This means that I'll be soon writing Everest Gone Missing, Zuma's Courage stuff, Partners Under Fire, and this fourth one._**

 ** _I'm going to try something I don't think has been done yet in the Paw Patrol Fanfiction community: Sci-fi Mecha Space Opera. Inspired by a multitude of Mecha anime like Gundam and Majestic Princes, I'm going to make an AU Sci-Fi universe with the Paw Patrol characters. Basically, it will take place in a futuristic time where Earth and her colonies are under attack by an alien force. They've developed mechs, but the problem is that they aren't suitable for human bodies. Using a system known as FENRIR, it turns out dogs are capable pilots. Giving the dogs advance human like intelligence, dogs become the focus of the main army against the alien invaders. The story takes place 200 years after the start of the war and will focus on each of the Paw Patrol members (Not Everest, she comes later) who are chosen to become a new team under the command of Ryder._**

 ** _I don't know when I'll be doing it, but I will keep you guys updated. For now, let's do this._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

"What do you mean you won't cancel the tournament?!" shouted Travis as he slammed his fist on the desk of Mayor Dalton who winced at the sight of damage to it. "Yesterday, there was a clear sight of dark magic being used! That means that there are demons around!"

"Yes, there was a dark magic user, but we don't know if demons are involved," said Mayor Dalton as he put his hands up to clam the raging young man. "I understand that this is a cause of some concern, but we don't know if this was an isolated case or not. It could just be one single man who made a foolish mistake. We can't assume that there is an army of magic users and possible demons until we know for sure. It would cause panic."

"People are already panicking!" shouted Travis as he pointed to the city outside. "And they have every right to be! This is only the beginning and if we do not prepare for whatever evil they are planning we'll lose more lives than we could have saved in the first blow."

Travis resisted every urge to strange the man, wishing his predecessor was still alive. The previous mayor listened to his father and wasn't a foolish man who cared more about image then his city and people. He had hoped that Mayor Dalton wouldn't be this difficult to deal with, but it seemed that wasn't to be the case. Thankfully, others weren't as stupid as firefighters, police, and ambulances were preparing for the worse. Many of them knew Travis's father and when he contacted them with warnings of a greater threat, they listened. They knew what had happened last time the demons appeared and they were more prepared than ever. _But they still have to listen to this bastard._

"I understand that. I will make every precaution there is but the tournament must continue for the sake of the city's economy. I have sponsors and companies who we are contracted with that demand the tournament continue or else they will pull their funding and resources," said Mayor Dalton. "I understand what you are saying. I can delay the Championships for maybe two days, I'll add extra security, I will even allow you to control them if you wish. But I must let the tournament go forward."

Realizing it was a lost cause, Travis sighed and nodded. "Fine. But you better pray that they don't do anything at the tournament or its your head." Turning around he left, but not before slamming the door shut.

Travis passed the secretary 's desk where Rodrick was waiting for him. "I take it didn't go so well, Master Travis?" asked the butler as he followed his charge out of the room and into the hall.

"He's an idiot," muttered Travis as he pressed the call button for the elevator and waited for it. "The city need to be prepared for what's going to come. It's only a matter of time before they first strike and we need to be prepared. Thanks to this tournament we got more innocent victims just waiting to be slaughtered."

Entering the elevator, Rodrick pulled out a tablet and handed it to Travis who turned it on. "Well, perhaps this will distract you. I managed to find out where the Paw Patrol is staying. It's at the Trump Palace Hotel. Apparently, they are here for the National Firedog's Championship Tournament for one of their pups named… well…"

"Marshall?" asked Travis, stone faced. A few minutes of silence passed as they rode the elevator. "It's a popular name Rodrick. When I was traveling around, I met many dalmatians that had that name. It doesn't mean anything."

"Yes, sir," said Rodrick. "Do you intent to meet with Mr. Ryder after the tournament?"

"Might as well meet him now," said Travis as the elevator came to a stop and he exited.

When the dogs got the notice that the tournament was delayed for two days, Marshall didn't feel too upset. It meant more time to train and explore the city. Despite the dangerous episode they had yesterday, the dogs thought it would be a good idea to explore and relax. Ryder gave them permission to go on ahead without him as he wanted to look into the manner of magic and what they had dealt with.

Naturally, the first place they wanted to check out was The Costal Big Mall that made their jaws drop for the sheer size of it. It was almost like the size of a stadium dome but full of advertisements. "Woah, you could live in this thing," said Rubble with awe. "I bet they got _everything!"_

"Well, let's check it out!" shouted Chase as he lead the group inside. The mall was filled with tons of stores ranging from clothing to merchandise. There were humans, dogs, and even a few cats walking around either together or on their own. It was so strange for the pups to see dogs treated just like humans without a blink of an eye. Even back home in Adventure Bay they were still treated a bit different, but here it seemed no such thing existed. They continued to move forward, passing by stores of all kinds, until they made it to the giant water fountain whose water extended up to the glass ceiling.

"Alright, so what do you guys want to do?" asked Chase, addressing the team.

"Well, I'm going to check out the food court! I can smell Chinese, burgers, sushi, hotdogs, pizza, and cakes from here!" proclaimed Rubble with a bark.

"I guess I'll go with him too," said Rocky, walking next to him. "I could use a bit of grub myself."

"I wanna check out the video games! See if we can get some new ones to play back home!" said Zuma.

"I should check out some equipment here for my fire truck and gear, just in case I need to tune it up more for the contest," said Marshall.

"I'd actually like to check out a few clothing stores. I saw a few for dogs," said Skye who then walked over to Chase and winked at him. "Guess who's going to be carrying the bags?"

Chase whimpered and lowered his head as the others giggled at the sight. "And this is why I'm single," said Zuma bumping paws with Rubble.

"Alright, let's try to meet back here in two hours. We got the rest of the city to see after all," said Chase as the team nodded and headed out.

It didn't take long for Marshall to find the place he needed: a store that sold engine parts. While he wasn't as mechanical as Rocky, Marshall knew his truck inside and out and did his best to keep it in top shape. All the dogs had knowledge of their vehicles and knew how to fix, repair, and clean them when necessary. After all, Rocky and Ryder couldn't do everything.

After asking an employee for directions, Marshall came to a series of pumping parts that would help out greatly. "Hmm, to expensive…. That's outdated… wouldn't work with my current gear… there we go!" said Marshall as he noticed a sign that said "E-SEVEN Air Pump Delta System" with one item left under its sign. "I've been looking for that piece for weeks!"

He reached out to grab it, but suddenly another paw swiftly took the pump right before Marshall could grab it. "Huh?" He turned to his left where he saw a female dalamatian glare at him before turning away with her tail raised high. "Hey! I spotted that first!"

"Well, I got it first so tough luck," said the female who strolled her way down the aisle. Not wanting to give up so easily, Marshall followed her.

"Well, do you know where I can at least get a spare?" asked Marshall, walking side by side with the female.

"No, now go away. You're annoying," said the female dalmatian.

"There's no reason to be rude. Maybe we should start over." Marshall got in front of the clearly annoyed female dalmatian and put his paw out. "I'm Marshall of Paw Patrol from Adventure Bay. I'm a firefighter dog as well as an EMT. What's your name?"

"Ember, and I'm a firefighter dog for Ladder 22. Now please go away," said Ember, pushing him aside.

"You're a firefighter too?! So we have something in common," said Marshall, missing the eye rolling from Ember. "I'm here to compete in the National Firedog's Championship. Are you competing in it too?"

"Yes, but I'm going to win the Championship," said Ember with a proud smirk. "I've been training my entire life to be the best. And when I wish, I'll be Travis Lugna's partner."

"Who is Travis Lugna?" asked Marshall, tilting his head. Ember stared at him with wide eyes as if he just heard him say cats could talk. "What?"

"The Travis Lugna? The last and heir to the Lugna family? The greatest firefighers in the world? The one who rescued all those people in that fire yesterday?!" asked Ember with disbelief. "This entire tournament is pretty much set up to see who is going to be his dog partner! And you joined without knowing that?!"

"Wait, he was that guy in the suit? That was Travis?" asked Marshall with awe. "But firefigher's don't kill. So why did he kill that one guy? Is he special?"

"Wait, you met him?" asked Ember, raising an eyebrow. "That's impossible. The only way you could have seen him…" Her eyes went bug-eyed. "You were at the fire yesterday?!"

"Oh, yeah. My team and I helped the civilians out and took care of the fire except for that one in the center," said Marshall, nodding his head. Suddenly, Ember got into his face and growled at him which made him whimper.

"That's. My. Territory. That was my zone and my place to work. By the time my group got there the fire was already gone and you and your friends finished everything up. Listen up, Marshall, you wanna be a hero and take care of fires, fine. But leave my area alone."

"Um, okay?" asked Marshall, gulping.

"Good, now butt out," said Ember, leaving the confused Marshall behind.

To her curiosity, she then heard him say, "Well, good luck in the contest! Bye!" and he was gone. She wondered why he would say that and decided to just forget about it and pay for her part.

It was rare that Ryder ever had a problem. He had, for many years, always found solutions to whatever situations he found himself in. Even in stuff that was new to him he found a way to adapt and turn to his advantage. Ryder's dogs may have been the muscle, but he was the mind. It was his weapon.

Yet, this had him completely stumped. He had tried researching into the concept of magic and magic users but all he got was entertainers, fantasy role playing games, and Wicca sites. Ryder was an open minded person and this wouldn't be the first time he saw magic. The memory of the Mer-Pups still was fresh in his mind.

Yet, what did he know anything about magic besides what he knew in fiction? Nothing. How much of it did he know was real or not? He didn't. Ryder knew that nobody could blame him for not caring about this problem, but for some reason or another he felt like he had to do this.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he pushed his laptop aside to get up and head for it. When it opened, Ryder saw a Caucasian teenager who looked to be about his age staring at him with what looked to be a butler behind him. "Ryder, I assume?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Travis. We need to talk."


	13. Chapter 13

_**AN:**_ ** _Hello, everyone. I'm curious, does anybody know if the Pups Save A Sports Day episode is now out? I know most of the episodes aren't starting again until August (At least where I am) and I want to know if the episode can at least be seen online. I don't mind paying 2 to 3 dollars to see it on google watch or whatever._**

 ** _Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story. We're about to learn some of the backstory of Travis's family and his history with the demons and such. More focus on him this time then Marshall._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Ryder had to admit, he wasn't expecting the heir to the Lugna family to invite him to lunch much less at the expensive restaurant inside the hotel. Apparently, the entire meal was to be paid for by the hotel's manager, courtesy of the rich boy in front of him. Ryder had often been called smart, genius, and would even admit he had a small fortune thanks to his parents and his inventing skills. It had been hard interacting with people his own age due to the fact he was so much more mature then them, not to mention fancially better off. The only one who never treated him as such was Katie, his best human friend.

Now for the first time, Ryder was in the presence of somebody _much_ higher than him. Travis Lugna must have realized this as he put down his menu and smirked. "You know, I don't bite."

"Sorry, I'm just a little surprised by all this," said Ryder, giving a smile of his own before taking a sip of his coke. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to visit me."

"Well, when somebody leads a bunch of pups in transformer gear to save my city from a situation where lives are stake I feel like I have to make an appearance," shrugged Travis as he the waiter came by. "I'll take the steak sandwich and fries. Hold the pickles."

"BLT with fries. Extra mayo," ordered Ryder as he nodded the waiter in thanks. "So why come visit me?"

"Well, I guess a part of me wants to thank you for helping those people before I got there," said Travis as he drank his water.

"Got there?" asked Ryder before his eyes widened. "Wait, you were the guy in that suit?"

"It's called the Navan suit," answered Travis. "It's named after the Navan Fort, a famous land mark in my family home of Ireland. Many myths are born from that area including such warriors like Cathbad, Lóegaire, and Cú Chulainn. My grandfather designed the blueprints, but my father was the one who made the armor into a reality and upgraded it. I've enhanced it and trained with it, but that was the first time I used it in combat."

"I owe you for saving my dogs. They're like family to me," said Ryder, smiling.

A brief smile decorated Travis' face but there was a glimmer of sorrow in his eyes as well that Ryder noticed. "I figured you to be a good person, Ryder. I'm glad my judgement was not displaced," commented Travis. A serious frown then decorated his expression as he leaned forward. "Now I'm afraid I have to tell you that I wish you not to get involved again if such an event happens." Ryder raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I've read about your exploits. You're a talented leader and I'm sure you will go far in your life, but this is something beyond your understanding. This is strictly a Costal City issue and I would like to keep it that way. I don't want to risk your life in this situation."

"My team and I can handle anything," said Ryder, firmly.

"This beyond firefighting, catching thieves, exploring temples, and stopping a volcano," said Travis. "This is dealing with things beyond the natural forces of the earth."

"You mean supernatural," pointed out Ryder, leaning back on his chair. "Like magic and demons?"

Travis didn't say anything. He just sighed and muttered, "Tell me, Ryder. Do you believe in God?"

"I don't belong to a specific religion, but I do believe he exists," answered Ryder.

"Well, you are right. But of course since there is a God there is also The Devil," whispered Travis. "Demons aren't just myth in a book or some cartoonish character that's imp like and holds a pitchfork. He is real. His minions are real. His worshipers are real. There is nothing good about them for all they touch turns rotten and into ash." Travis leaned forward. "They come in all forms, sizes, shapes, and powers. Each of them slowly working their way out of hell and into our world to do nothing but commit evil. That person I killed sold his own soul for power to destroy and kill in the name of the demon that granted it to him."

Ryder didn't say anything, but the cold and serious glare that made him start to feel sweat down his brow. "And you stop them?"

"My family has been fighting them for generations. Since the days of St. Patrick," whispered Travis, leaning back. "I'm the last Lugna and the last hope this city has."

"But this only has more questions. Why you? Why not just invade the world? Why don't more people know about this?" asked Ryder. It was only a small of them that were in his mind. He needed to know more information in case these demons started appearing in Adventure Bay. He then froze as he thought about what Marshall said to him in the last fire. _So he was telling the truth…_

"The reason I am able to do it I cannot tell you because it's a family secret," answered Lugna, playing with some necklace that was hidden in his shirt. "All you need to know is that God choose my family to do this duty and I will not family him nor those of my blood who are long gone. Second, demons cannot cross over into our world by mere whim. They must be summoned and even then the process is rare to work. Unfortunately, Costal City is a big haven for demon worshipers and the ilk they worship." Rubbing his hand across his head, Travis continued. "As for the third, well the government and certain people do know they exists, especially in this city, but he government knows how to keep things silent from the public. And most wouldn't believe it anyway. Better this way since you can image the chaos if word got out about demons running about."

"I guess that makes sense," agreed Ryder. You had people argue and fight over religious beliefs as it were, why add more to that? "But I'm involved as well now."

"Just because you and your dogs fought one black magic users doesn't me-"

"One of them saw a demon," said Ryder, interrupting Travis who looked him straight in the eye. "It was before we left home. A series of arsons were going around town. Marshall-" Travis closed his eyes "-went into save a pup inside a fire. He saw what he claimed is a demon try to kill them both but he escaped."

"… and you're sure Ma… you're dog saw this?" asked Travis, now interested as he did his best to ignore the name.

"Yes, and I trust him with my life," reassured Ryder with a smile. "Out of all my dogs, Marshall is the most honest."

The food had arrived, but upon hearing the name of his former dog, even if it was a different one, made Travis lose his appetite. He motioned for Ryder to dig in as he refocused on what he had heard. _Demons in Adventure Bay? Why would they go there? Can't have been summoned, the Gabriel System would have picked it up. Must be something else…_

"If you want, you can meet with him for details. Marshall I think wants to thank you for saving him personally," mentioned Ryder as he continued to eat.

Travis closed his eyes. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I think I have all the information I need. Just please be careful and good luck in the tournament." He got up and was about to go when Ryder called him.

"We'll see each other again, right?"

"I have no doubt we will," said Travis before he left.

It was only seconds later that Ryder realized he left without eating a single bite.


	14. Chapter 14

_**AN:**_ ** _So I finally saw the All Star Pups episode, which made me wonder why they had it as a two separate episode thing for two separate sports scenarios. Personally, I would have just made it a full 30 minute special like they did with introducing Everest or the Season 1 finally. I do admit I find it sweet the gang was willing to go so far to give Everest a sport she could do well in, but dear god is Danny X an asshole. Seriously, are they replacing him with Alex as the most stupid character on the show that ruins everything? Then again I'm still under the idea that Alex is going to grow up to be a psychopath while Danny X may have been dropped as a baby._**

 ** _I am interested in Tracker though. Will he have a Hispanic accent or not is my question._**

 ** _Anyway, before you read this chapter I ask one thing… don't hate me._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Despite losing the part he wanted for his firetruck to the other dalmatian, Marshall was able to find some other parts that would be useful. He only hoped he and Rocky could put them in time for the tournament. After paying for his purchase, using a special credit card that Ryder gave each the pups when they turned fifteen, Marshall made his way back to the center of the mall where most of the others were already waiting for him.

Rubble was chowing down what looked like a giant sized egg-roll while Zuma and Rocky watched with amusement. With a few hugs bites, Rubble finished it off and let out a large burb that echoed through the mall. "Excuse me."

"You know the way you give out gas, Wubble, Wocky should invent a machine that can let him store it and use it for enewgy," suggested Zuma with a giggle.

"Please, Zuma, I'm smart but I'm not a miracle worker," chuckled Rocky who noticed Marshall arriving. "Oh, there you are. Did you find all your parts?"

"I did find some, but I missed a chance for this one part I really wanted thanks to Ember," grumbled Marshall.

"Whose Ember?" asked Rubble.

He quickly told the gang the events of what happened in the store, by the end the three were frowning upon hearing how this dog treated their friend. Zuma was the first to speak his mind. "Wow, she sounds like a bitch."

"Zuma!" scolded Rocky.

"What? It's twue!" shouted Zuma, growling. "The way she tweated Mawshall like he was nothing? Acting so full of hewself? _Commanding him?_ She's got something up her butt weal tight."

"I agree with Zuma," said Rubble, growling. "She should have been glad we were there to help. Not get angry that we were in her _territory."_

Marshall waved his paw around and smiled. "Guys, it's okay. I'm sure she's not _that_ bad. Maybe she's just having a bad day or something? After all, anyone who risks helping others has to be good, right?"

"You really are too nice for your own good, you know that?" asked Zuma, but with a smile.

"What I really can't believe was that guy in the armored suit was Travis Lugna!" shouted Rocky, bouncing up and down and wagging his tail. "The actual heir to the Lugna Family and its company! Such technology! I'd give anything to work in their labs for an hour!"

"Even a bath?" asked Rubble with a grin.

"… okay, almost anything!"

The four laughed but were soon joined by a fifth voice that gave a small yipe and bark before walking over to the others. "Sorry, I'm late, guys!" said Skye, smiling in satisfaction. "You wouldn't believe the sales they had today! If it wasn't for the fact that Chase reminded me we had a limited credit on the cards, I might have bought out six stores!"

Marshall looked around for his best friend only to see no hide or hair of him. "Speaking of Chase, where is he?"

"Oh, he's right behind me!" said Skye cheerfully.

The four other dogs looked behind Skye and winced with pity at what they saw. Chase, sweating and panting as if he had been through a war, struggled to carry the numerus bags and boxes of clothing that he had on his back. By the sheer size of the amount of fashion that was paid for, the gang wasn't sure if he was carrying clothes or a piece of a mountain. Inch by inch the germen shepherd made his way to the group before he collapses on his stomach, sending the entire mountain of clothing down upon him where he was buried alive by the expensive wears.

"Um, Chase? Buddy? You alive?" asked Marshall, weakly.

"… kill me…"

"He's fine," said Skye with a smile.

"Looks like Rubble is gonna have to dig him out," suggested Rocky with a chuckle.

Marshall walked over and moved some boxes that allowed Chase's face to appear from the pile. He gasped for breath and looked ready to pass out. "I think you may have gotten overboard on the buying, Skye."

"Oh, its not that much, right Chase?"

"… I pray for death's sweet embrace… take me angels and sing my soul to sleep…"

"Okay, maybe I went a bit too far," whispered Skye, rubbing the back of her head.

"Why do you need all that anyway? We're dogs, we can go around naked for the world to see," pointed out Rocky.

"Look, it's a girl thing," muttered Skye, rolling her eyes.

"Well, Chase isn't going to be able to carry all that by himself back to the hotel," said Marshall.

"Yup! That's why you boys are going to help him!" said Skye with a smile.

The four's eyes widened as they stared at each other, then at the clothes pile, then at Chase. Rocky reacted first by clutching his chest. "Ugh! Heart attack! I'm dying! Goodbye cruel world!" He then fell on his back, closed his eyes, lifted all four legs in the air, and stuck out his tongue.

The others, naturally, followed suit much to Skye's annoyance.

"Ugh, they got me! I'm a goner! Tell Ryder to bury me facing the sunset! Guh! Gah! Blah!" cried out Marshall as he stood on his hind legs, clutching his stomach. He twirled around before landing on the ground, paws folded over his chest and looking peaceful as if he was at his own funeral.

"Oh, to die so young! Curse you fate for taking me! Alas, my eternal sleep awaits! Uhhhhh…" moaned Rubble, falling on his side with his eyes rolled back and his tongue sticking out.

"Oh, I can see the light! I can see heaven! Endless bones to chew! Large fire hydrants to pee on! Endless chew toys to play with! So great… so beautiful…" cried out Zuma before he gave one last choke and fell forward, eyes closed, rump in the air, and his forelegs spread.

Skye rolled her eyes at the performance. "And this is why you four don't have girlfriends. I'll just call Uber."

* * *

The patrol returned home in record time, although it took a thirty minutes to get the boys to stop playing dead (or wake up from near death in Chase's case) and hitch a ride home. When they arrived, they were shocked to learn that Travis Lugna had visited their owner personally. Ryder told the group what Travis mentioned about demons and the supernatural. All Chase could say at the end was "There goes my atheism."

This also got a few apologizes from those who didn't believe Marshall's story about the demon back home. Some of the dogs wondered if they were going to have to deal with the demons themselves, but Ryder told them Travis didn't want them involved for various reasons. Of course, the dogs pointed the obvious about asking what would happen if demons were in Adventure Bay, like the one starting the arsons. Ryder said he had plans to research and find a way to deal with them.

After a quick dinner, everyone headed back into their rooms for a good night's rest. Only when he tried to sleep, Marshall found himself staring into the ceiling. For some reason, Marshall couldn't get to sleep as all he kept thinking about was the idea that demons were real and invading not just Costal City but Adventure Bay as well. It was… bothering him would be a term to use.

 _Why does it feel like I need to be more involved,_ thought Marshall as he rubbed his lucky pendant. There was something in his mind that was urging him to know more and find these demons that were threatening innocent people. _This is stupid, I'm a firefighter dog. Not a demon hunter._

He got up and growled in frustration. He needed to talk to somebody, but who? He glanced over at Rocky who was perfectly asleep under the covers and he guessed the rest were too. Fortunatly, he knew one friend who would be up at this hour.

* * *

Entering the Paw Patroler had woken up Robodog from charging his batteries, but Marshall quickly waved a hoof. "Easy, Robodog. You can go back to sleep. I'm just calling a friend back home."

" _Arf. Arf."_ Replied the robot before going back into charging mode.

Heading to the controls he activated the transmission system and radioed for a certain husky back home. The big screen behind him came down and turned on, revealing Everest in the woods with the moonlight shining down upon her. "Marshall? What are you doing up this late?" asked Everest with concern.

"Hey, Everest," greeted Marshall. "How's the midnight howling going?"

"Pretty good, I'm currently listening to a female wolf scold her mate for flirting with a younger wolf," said Everest as what sounded like a distant and angry howl made her wince. "I think he's going to the doghouse tonight if you know what I mean."

Marshall chuckled before turning serious. "Hey, Everest? There's something I gottat tell ya…"

"… and for some reason I think I should just do something, but I don't know why?! It's like a part of my brain is telling me to go out and hunt demons like some kind of bloodhound or something." Marshall took a deep breath as he finished what was bothering him. Everest was shocked and scared for the others upon learning about the existence of demons, but stayed quiet as Marshall went on his rant. "I don't know why this is bothering me so much…"

"… it's because you care," answered Everest with a smile. Marshall looked up as she continued, "Marshall, don't tell Chase I said this, but I think you're the most dedicated to being a member of Paw Patrol then any of us."

"M-M-Me? Oh, come on," replied a blushing Marshall. "Chase is the real dedicated winner. He's the leader."

"But you're the heart," said Everest, smiling. "Chase does what he does mostly out of duty and loyalty to Ryder. You do it because your kind and want to help people. Sure, Chase is the same too, but you never back down from helping others. It's just in your nature to deal with a situation, even if it's beyond what your used to doing. I think deep down you know you need to help fight these demons, and I'm sure the rest of the team does as well."

"But… what if this is something bigger then us?" asked Marshall.

"Aren't our words no job is too big and no pup is too small?" asked Everest. "So this is a big job. But that doesn't mean we can't tackle it. You've done so many amazing things, Marshall. We all have. This is just another amazing thing to do."

Marshall gave a small smile at Everest's words. "Everest…"

Blushing, Everest looked down with a soft smile on her muzzle. "Besides… I believe you can do anything."

There was a small moment of silence between the two friends as her words echoed in Marshall's heart, wiping away all doubt. "Everest. Thank you. I mean it."

"No problem. Now get some sleep. You got a tournament to win and I want to watch you kick butt!" said Everest with a bark.

"Roger that. Good night, Everest," said Marshall as he walked away, shutting the system off.

* * *

Despite the communication between them cut, Everest looked at her dog tag and smiled. "Goodnight… my love…"

Everest took a deep breath as she turned and made her way back to Jake's place. All the while she just berated herself for not telling Marshall right then and there her feelings. _Stupid! Stupid! You could have told him right there! You almost did!_

She sighed. For as long as she could remember, she had always had feelings for the spotted dog. His kindness and gentle eyes had won her over a long time ago. She had always planned on telling him one day, but each time she tried she chickened out. Shaking her head, she firmly stared up to the moon. _No, not any more. I'll tell him when he gets back. Win or lose I'll tell Marshall my feelings!_

Nodding, she rushed back to the direction of Jake's log house. She had left right after dinner to do her patrol and talk to the wild animals in the woods four hours ago. She hoped Jake had saved some of his famous hot cocoa for her to drink before bed.

However, when she got to the cabin, to her shock the door to the cabin was wide open, the lights were out and there was… snow? She blinked and looked around. It was summer time, why was there snow around the cabin as well as inside. Nervously, she trekked forward, sniffing the air for anything. What she smelled made her spine shiver. _S-something is wrong!_

Rushing inside, she cried out Jake's name only to nearly slip on the icy floor that had spread itself all over her home. She struggled to get up and looked around in horror. "Did a blizzard come through here?" It might as well have been one. The furniture was all torn up with snow, ice and even giant icicles sticking up from the ground or from the ceiling. She wondered what on earth could have caused this when she heard a dripping sound.

"J-J-Jake?" asked Everest as she slowly moved forward towards one of the walls where the dripping noise was coming from. She couldn't see because of the darkness, but she could still hear it. Just as she got closer, she felt her paw step in something wet and sticky and slowly lifted it only to feel her entire blood turn to ice just like around her.

Blood.

Her paw was covered in blood.

Shaking, she looked upward and screamed. Her owner, the one who she loved like a father, was stuck against the wall with each limb nailed to the wood, shaping him into the image of an upside down crucifix. His face was showing silent horror as blood drip down it thanks to the numerous deadly looking scratches that had torn up his chest to the point where some of his insides were coming out.

Everest screamed and turned to run, only to fell something sharp go right through her stomach. She gurgled out in shock as blood dripped from her mouth and a small trickle poured out of the long fingernail that had pierced right through her body. Trembling, she slowly looked up and saw only cold dead, monstrous eyes that were like the dead of winter itself. It used its other long clawed hand to slowly place a sharp fingernail at one end of her neck before slowly drawing it across and cutting her throat like a knife through butter.

Everest tried to speak but all she could do through the pain of feeling her neck torn open was half mumbled gurgled. When the second smile had been finished across her neck, the creature released her and let her lie on the ground, twitching as a pool of red started to form around her, decorating the once pale blue ice.

As she lay there, slowly dying, Everest saw her life flash before her eyes. All her memories, both good and bad, pictured in her mind. Before she breathed her last, her tears began to shed down her cheek as one last image came to her mind.

"... mar…shall…"

The creature soon left, leaving the lifeless husky eyes to stare at nothing as the moon shined upon the red and blue floor.


	15. Chapter 15

_**AN:**_ ** _Saw the latest episodes. It's official Daring Danny X is worse than Alex (Who I haven't seen in so many episodes so I am convinced that his grandpa sent him away to the insane asylum for mental psychotic future serial killers). The guy is literally so stupid even the Paw Patrol and other characters know it._**

 ** _I apologize for the lateness. Work's kinda been hectic for me lately. Since we have new hired help I think I'll finally get some time off. Some other fics of mine are ending in the Paw Patrol section as well such as only 3 chapters left for "What's Marshall Doing" and 1 chapter left for "From Fear to Courage". And yes, after that one we will go to "Zuma's Courage"._**

 ** _Trying to also do a one shot. You might see it next week. Anyway, enough talking let's do this and start the tournament._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Marshall woke up with a nervous stomach and a dry throat. It was finally here. The National Fire Dog Tournament was today. It was the day he would be competing against other fire dogs, nationwide, in front of a crowd of thousands and watched by millions on TV.

So naturally, he was hiding under the covers and shivering at the thought.

"Come on, Marshall!" cried out Rubble as he and the other tried to get Marshall to come down for breakfast. "You've been training months for this! You can do it!"

"No! I can't!" cried out Marshall, under his cover on the bed. "Tell them I had a stomach ache. Or better yet tell them I got called away on a rescue mission."

"Marshall, quit being a scardy cat. This isn't so bad. It's just you and a bunch of other dogs," soothed Chase.

"While being watched on TV for your evewy move," pointed out Zuma, taking an elbow from Chase.

Ryder walked in and looked amused at the sight of Marshall's shaking figure. "Still not coming out?"

"Nope, this is work then when we have to take him to the vet," responded Skye.

"I'd rather take a shot in my butt then do this!" shouted Marshall, who paused for a second. "Um, well… maybe not."

With a smirk, Ryder sat down and sighed. "Well, Marshall, if you don't want to compete that's fine."

The other dogs all looked at Ryder with a raised eyebrow while Marshall's head popped out. "Really?"

"Yeah, it's just a shame everyone in Adventure Bay is going to be so disappointed. Katie, Captain Turbot, Mayor Goodway, Alex, Mr. Porter, Jake, and… _Everest_ , _"_ said Ryder with a increased tone on the last one which made Marshall blush. The other dogs, seeing what their owner was doing, all smirked before joining in.

"Yeah, I mean Everest sacrificed all her time to help you train," pointed out Skye.

"She really was looking forward to seeing you win," commented Chase.

"She looked really excited when we left," said Rocky.

"I wouldn't be suwprised if she was going to give you a big hug and kiss if you won," hinted Zuma.

"But I guess she's no going to be disappointed when she doesn't see you competing," sighed Rubble, doing his best to hide a smirk.

In as split second, the covers were thrown away as a white blur rushed to his gear, put it on, and stood outside the door with a burning passion in in his eyes. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Let's get something to eat and head out! I got a trophy to win!" Howling he rushed down the halls while apologizing to other residents who complained about it.

"Too easy?" asked Ryder to the pups.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel," replied Skye.

* * *

The contest was to be done in a district area known as the "Phoenix Ashes". A long time ago, a great fire had swept through out this district and burned everything in it to the ground with hundreds of lives lost. Despite this, the city came together and rebuild on the ashes of everything into a new and proper district. The contest was held outside of a small stadium where a make shift stage had been prepared as well as large viewing screens. Thousands had come to see what had become a city tradition. They were awaiting the dogs that would come out in fire trucks driven by their owners or teammates. Most of them were Dalmatians like Marshall, but a few were Black Labs, German Sheperds, and Shiba Inus.

One thing that Marshall did stand out from was the fact that he has his own firetruck. A few of the dogs looked at it and were impressed by the design with Marshall telling them what he could about it (the mechanical stuff was mostly Ryder and Rocky's field). Some would think this was an unfair advantage, but unlike the other dogs he would be doing this solo without a team to help him. The others of Paw Patrol were not registered 'firedogs' and thus they weren't allowed to help.

While going over the final specks of his truck, Marshall noticed a familiar dalmatian walking past his truck without even glancing at him. Jumping out, Marshall barked for her attention as she turned around with a glare. "Hey, Ember. Remember me?"

"Oh, yeah. You were that Dalmatian from the mall," said Ember in an uncaring tone. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say good luck and may the best dalmatian win," said Marshall with a smile as he held out his paw.

Ember looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "Luck? I don't need luck. I got skill. Besides, I'm going to win this thing."

Marshall's smile lessened as he lowered his paw. "Still, I just want to wish you the best."

"Even though I'm your opponent?" asked Ember. "Why are you really here? Almost every dog here is trying to become Travis's partner, but you don't even know who he is. Why are you here?"

"I just thought this would-be fun is all," said Marshall, wagging his tail. "I think it's exciting that I'm testing my skills against other firedogs and I want to learn what I can so I can apply it on the field."

Ember stared at Marshall for a long time until she tilted her head. "Huh, I think I believe you."

"Thanks!" said Marshall, nodding his head.

"Whatever, try not to get too upset when you eat my dust," said Ember, turning around.

Marshall sighed and shook his head. "Why does she have to be so unfriendly?"

* * *

Travis didn't know why he was watching this on his TV screen at the tower. He knew the demons were preparing something and he should have been ready. Yet he didn't want to be cast in the spotlight since apparently half of the reason this entire thing was formed was to give him a new partner. _I don't know who started that rumor, most likely the mayor, but I will not choose a new partner._ There was only one partner-one brother-in his heart that would never fade.

Rodrick appeared behind him with a bowl of popcorn and a cold soda. "Would you care for a refreshment, sir?"

Although he wasn't particularly hungry, he didn't want to upset the butler so he took it with a nod of thanks. Chewing on some of the popcorn, he watched as the announcer began to list officially start the opening ceremony with the dog competitors coming out on the fire trucks supported by their fire fighters.

Travis watched as they came out of a tunnel, decorated with banners and streamers while two pits of fire on opposite ends roared. Ironic since this was dedicated to fighting fires. The announcer talked about each dog that came out, including where they came from, their ladder number, and some small information. Travis had to hold it in each time he saw a Dalmatian on top of the truck, waving and howling at the crowds that cheered for them.

"It seems to be the largest group of competitors this year, sir," replied Rodrick.

"Probably because of that rumor about me," pointed out Travis, sipping his coke. "I'm gonna feel like the bad guy when I turn the winner down."

"Such a shame," muttered Rodrick.

Their attention was lost for a bit as dog after dog went through. Then a name came up that caught Travis's attention. _"And coming in next is Costal City's own Ember of Ladder 22. The World's Fastest Fire Pup and breaker of many other records. Ember is the favorite to win here today folks, and she's been trained by the best to become the best. Look at her smile proudly like she knows she's going to win folks. We should be proud to have such a dedicated and proactive fire dog in our city."_

"Yet, she's arrogant and doesn't know what it means to be a real fire dog," muttered Travis, shaking his head.

"You don't think she's good, sir?"

"Oh, I have no doubt of her skills. They are exceptional, but her mindset is what bothers me," said Travis. "I get the feeling she only sees being a fire dog a challenge or a means to prove herself, when it's about duty… and sacrifice."

"… your father would be proud of you for saying that," whispered Rodrick with a small smile.

"Thanks, Rodrick," whispered Travis, turning back and smiling at that notion. He then frowned and then asked, "Would Dad take a new partner if Ajax was gone and he lived?"

"… I think your father would do what he believed was the right thing," said Rodrick with a sigh. "Master Travis, don't try to be a complete carbon copy of your father. Take inspiration from him, learn from his actions, but be your own man. Your father would have been proud of you regardless of you taking a new partner or not." Rodrick looked up at the TV and smiled. "And if you decide to change your mind about getting a new partner you… you…" His eyes widened in shock as his mouth slowly opened. "… oh my god…"

"Rodrick?" asked Travis, tilting his head.

"S-S-Sir! You should see… you should…" muttered Rodrick as he slowly lifted his finger.

Travis looked behind him and in a split second felt his entire world go silent as his heart stopped beating. It had been years. So many long years, but Travis never forgot the look of his pup's face. The innocent and kindhearted eyes that he had for the world. The passionate fire behind them that burned like an inferno.

Smiling and looking at the crowd with that same look, with but a hint of nerves, was a dalmatian that waved to the crowd while driving his own firetruck with no human crew. The name of the dalmatian appeared on the screen while the announcer talked, _"And this is a first time for us, folks. A fire dog from Sirius Island. Marshall of Paw Patrol from Adventure Bay comes in with a custom-made fire truck designed by his owner, Ryder… um, sorry the last name is smudged. Anyway, Paw Patrol is an all dog rescue team lead by their owner and Marshall is here to try his best with us main land dwellers."_

A part of him tried to deny this with multiple reasons but that all died out when the camera zoomed in and Travis saw it. The pendant. There were only two in the entire world. The first was the one Travis was carrying. The second was given to his pup as a birthday present.

Marshall.

His Marshall.

He was alive.

By all the angels and saints, he was alive.

"Rodrick get the car now!" shouted Travis as he rushed to the doo, throwing the popcorn and soda on the floor.

Rodrick didn't hesitate, he grabbed the keys and joined his master in the elevator. Travis pressed the down button and looked ready to rip the doors open as he waited. "Come on! Come on! Come on! Get up here now!"

"Master Travis!" shouted Rodrick, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him around. "Look at me. Look at me!" Travis was breathing heavily, his eyes were starting to water as he looked half tempted to just rush to his armor and fly his way there. "Breathe sir. Sir. Listen to me. I will take you there, but you cannot just rush in there and hug him like no tomorrow. If this is Marshall-"

" _IT IS MARSHALL!"_ shouted Travis as he glared at Rodrick. "I remember every moment of my life with him. You and I both know that its him! It's him!" He pointed at the TV sceen. "It's my dog… my pup…. My best friend…"

Rodrick slowly let Travis onto his chest as the teenager cried tears of both joy and relief. "Yes, I know sire. But we must take this slow. It's been years. I don't know why he is here now, or why he never contacted you but we must take things in a rational tone. You understand?"

Travis slowly nodded his head with a sob.

"Good," said Rodrick as the elevator arrived. "Now let's go get our dog."


	16. Chapter 16

_**AN:**_ ** _So, to all regular fans of my work, Zuma's Courage is finally up. If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out either by accessing my profile or searching for it. The reason I made it "M" rated is because of the amount of blood I'm going to put into it. I only barely got away with a "T" rating last time with Zuma's Fear, but this time I'm afraid I have to go "M"._**

 ** _Someone also asked me if I will do a Puppy Love Romance 3. As much as I would like to (especially with Tracker now a character), I sadly have too much on my plate to even think about that. I'm going to focus on the fics I have now, all of which are long on their own. So yeah, don't expect anything new from me except maybe a one shot if I get an idea. From now my focuses are on the fics I currently have._**

 ** _Not much left of Paw Patrol season 3, which has been one of the interesting ones this year. We got to see the Patrol get kick ass Air Gear. We saw hints of Chase/Skye in a few episodes (And arguably some Marshall/Everest if you look close enough). We got to finally see Apollo the Superpup, even if it was another dream episode. We got a new idiot by the name of Daring Danny X. Rocky got a new voice actor which took some getting used to but it averagely works. We got a new pup named Tracker who speaks Spanish and has awesome cables. The Merpups returned. All eight pups were up on the Lookout Tower. And of course, monkeys. Lots of monkeys._**

 ** _Of course, we sadly learn that there will be more voice changes for the characters, including Alex Throne, who voices Zuma, shall be replaced by his brother. Will these new voice actors do well? We don't know, but we shall see. We wish them all the best though._**

 ** _Still a few more episodes left, but Season 3 has far outdone my expectations and I look forward to Season 4. There we shall see more of Daring Danny X, more missions in the sky, a new kingdom to explore, and the first pup villain named "Sweetie"._**

 ** _But for now, let's get on with the fic._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Rodrick had the car going as fast as possible, but even he had to remain at the speed limit. Any cops that spotted them speeding would pull them over and that would be more time wasted. Travis wanted nothing more than to take his suit and fly it to the contest, but that would only attract unwanted attention. _No, I have to do this right,_ thought Travis as he struggled with the emotions that were bursting out of him.

Marshall was alive.

His dog and best friend was alive.

For so long, Travis had dreams of Marshall alive and coming home but all of those died out when he got older. Now those dreams had come true. He had so many questions; the most important being why hadn't Marshall contacted him all these years.

Perhaps he thought of him dead as well after all these years? _No, he would have recognized my suit or my name. Besides, he knew everything was entrusted to both of us if our parents died. He would have come to Costal City and Rodrick would have raised him._

Did he blame Travis or himself for what happened that night? _If he does blame me… God I don't even want to think that. If he blames himself, why is he back here then?_

No, there had to be something he was missing. Marshall, for whatever reason, wouldn't forget him by normal circumstances. There was something he was missing and he was determined to figure it out. _But first I must find him and then… then…_

And then what? Take him home? Away from the team and owner he had been with for years? Try to reconnect like the good old days? Fight the demons together as they promised?

Again, too many questions. The only clear answer was to find Marshall and go from there.

"How far are we from the Pheonix District?" Travis asked as he began to look up files of Paw Patrol, especially Marshall, that could be seen on the internet. He wanted to know as much about his life before he met him.

"Still some ways, sir," answered Rodrick. "Even if we get in the area, the traffic caused by the tournament will slow us down. We may just be there before it ends though."

"Wish I took Ryder's number when I had the chance," grumbled Travis. "Go as fast as you can, Rodrick. I don't want him to slip by us again."

"Yes, Master Travis," replied Rodrick who increased the pressure on the gas petal.

Looking out the window, Travis gripped his fists and felt his heart beat faster and faster. Marshall was alive. That was still so haunting to him. _God, how am I even going to react when I see him face to face?_ For all Travis knew, one misstep and he could lose his friend a second time, this time of his own fault.

 _I'm coming, Marshall. Please wait for me!_

* * *

The tournament was made of various tests and challenges for the competitors that would go on for most of the day. Each was awarded points based on how fast and accurate they completed the challenges. The faster and better you did, the more points you earned. The one with the most points would be declared the winner as well as Best Firedog of the United State of America.

Marshall did his best to fight down the nervous gut that was lurching inside of him. He could feel every camera and reporter behind his back as he and the other dogs got ready for their first challenge. Slowly turning around, he saw the huge crowd of people and dogs cheering for their favorites with signs and banners displayed above them. He quickly saw his own team, cheering for him and waving their paws (hands in Ryder's case) as Zuma and Rocky unveiled a poster of him, charging through a waving inferno with his motto on top.

He smiled and nodded before closing his eyes. "Do my best. Forget the rest."

Opening his eyes, he looked at the apartment building that was in front of him. The announcer was going over the rules, but Marshall, having seen the previous tournaments on TV, already knew what to do. Each dog was assigned to a separate apartment with three levels. Each level had a "child" that you had to find and rescue as fast as you could. To help simulate the effect of a real fire, they had the heat turned up all the way inside the buildings and smoke machines to help hinder the process. Of course, there weren't any real children inside there, but just stuffed dolls.

The counter on a nearby big screen set up for the audience started to show a timer starting from ten. Realizing that it was time to start, Marshall focused and took a deep breath.

Five seconds.

Three.

One.

 _ **BEEEP!**_

Howling, Marshall rushed forward straight forward along with a few others in their respective apartments. Some decided to take the third floor with their latter and one or two went for the middle. It didn't matter what order you did them, just that you got it done. Marshall was going by experience on how fires below were more dangerous before they got higher.

Arriving at the door, other dogs began to use their axes to chop the locked door down. Ember, much to the shock of the audience, dived though a window like she was in Die Hard. Knowing that the axe route would take too much time, Marshall decided to bring the door down another way. Going at full speed, Marshall jumped up and performed a quick Pup-Fu jump kick that broke the door from its hedges.

 _Good thing we never stopped practicing,_ thought Marshall with pride in his voice. He still got a little misty eyed thinking about the day he and the others got their black belts.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Marshall entered the room and immediately put on his goggles with a modified night version that Ryder and Rocky designed to help him see in smoky areas. The first doll could be seen right next to some stairs behind a reception desk. Taking the doll carefully in his mouth, he brought it out and settled it next to his fire truck. Ember had arrived with her doll moments later, having needed to axe the door to escape.

Ember quickly started ordering her team to set up the latter and get her to the middle floor but Marshall didn't need that. "Arf! Ladder up!" he barked which set the latter up and headed straight for the second floor. Jumping on as it went up, Marshall found himself excited to be leading the pack and could hear the applause.

 _Maybe I can win this!_ He thought with joy before arriving at the window. Thankfully, it was open so he could slip on through; something an adult human would have had problems with. Landing on the floor, he found himself inside of a little boy's room with toys and messy clothes everywhere. The smoke was getting thicker and harder to see, even with his goggles.

Checking under the bed and the closet, that left Marshall to open the door and enter the rest of the apartment. A rookie would have begun to wonder where a kid in a fire would go if not his room and there was no escape. Marshall, however, was no rookie. Nine times out of ten, a child will hide in his parent's room because they would be the first people they would want to find.

After finding the parents room, Marshall used his axe to chop it down and make room for him to move. He found the feet of the doll under the bed and quickly grabbed it so that he could carry him to the window back where his latter was.

Exiting the building, he saw one dalmatian panic while trying to rush and drop his doll from the third story. A loud "oooh" and a big beep alerted him that he was out. If that had been a real child, he would be seriously hurt or dead because of his actions. Any death of a civilian was an auto-termination from the tournament. They may have been fake scenarios, but life was always the top priority for a firedog and a single mistake could result in the death of many.

Marshall had his ladder lower both him and his doll to the ground. Turning to Ember's section, his eye widens as he saw her slide down the ladder without a hint of fear before landing on the ground, placing her second doll on the ground. Sliding down a latter was always a trick and dangerous move, even Marshall rarely used it. _She did it like a pro. She is good._

Marshall placed his doll down and barked for his ladder to higher and at the third level. Rushing up as fast as he could, Marshall summoned his axe from his pup pack to smash the window open and enter the building.

This time, the smoke was so bad he could barely see three inches in front of him. Lowering himself to the floor, Marshall crawled through a living room and started his search. He searched the kitchen, the dining room, and even a few closest but there was no sign of the doll. _Times running out. Ember must already have found hers._

He saw three rooms in front of him, one of them possibly holding the third doll. Taking a gamble, he entered the right one, revealed to be a bathroom, and searched around. _Darn it! Nothing!_ He was about to retreat when he saw something that stood out. The shower curtain to the tub was all the way closed. _Why would it be closed? You open it when your down with a shower… unless…_

Taking the curtains, he pulled back and smirked upon seeing his hunch was correct. The third doll was hiding in the tub. Taking it, he fought through the smoke before heading towards the door. He saw the crowd cheering not just for him, but Ember as well who was already bringing her doll down, only climbing down instead of sliding.

Marshall was about to follow when he suddenly, felt a sneeze coming along from all the smoke. _Oh no. Not now! Please not now!_

Try as he could, Marshall couldn't hold it and sneezed so hard he lost his footing. The crowd gasped at first, but then Marshall positioned himself so that he fell on his read end against the ladder while still holding onto the doll. "Wooaaaahhh!" shouted Marshall as he slid down the slide backwards, holding onto the doll as if it was his life line. Ember gasped upon seeing him slide past her and froze at the sight.

He continued to slide down before he reach the end and was thrown off his rear and into the ground where he landed on the pavement, the doll landing on top of him. Grunting, Marshall looked at one of the camera's focused on him and got up with a smile as he raised his helmet up. "I'm good!"

The crowd cheered and roared for him as Marshall placed the final doll down. Half a minute later, Ember did as well.

Eventually, the dogs all managed to finish and were judged by their speed. Marshall was shocked to find himself getting a near perfect score of 8.9 (they took points off for nearly slipping) while Ember got a 9.0 making her first with him just behind her by .1 points.

The crowd cheered again as Marshall turned to his friends who were jumping and waving to him. Pride began to fill Marshall's heart as he began to think he really could win this. _Let's hope the next one isn't as tough._


	17. Chapter 17

_**AN: I'm getting ready for Mission PAW. A lot of cool stuff so far about it like Sweetie and the new outfits that are rumored to be coming with this episode. This might also be the episode we see Alex Thorn's brother finally taking his place as the new Zuma Voice Actor. There are rumors more voice acting changes will be happening, but this make sense since these are kids who are voicing the characters and they grow up and their voices change. Currently, only Rubble and Skye have not gotten a voice actor change.**_

 _ **I do wonder if they'll ever have the pups grow up older to avoid this problem in the future. It might work, but who knows.**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

With the first contest done, Marshall prepared himself for the second one. It would feature him and the rest of the contestants firing their hose at pop ups in various windows that looked like flames. The one who performed the fastest and most accurate won. Marshall was a bit nervous since he was more accurate at spraying water with his pup pack then he was with the hose, but he still prepared himself for the fight.

After waiting for the contest crew to set things up in the various apartments they were using, Marshall took his place beside his firetruck and mutter his motto: "Do my best, forget the rest."

He glanced over to where Ember was with her team and crew, telling them to get in place and prepare for the event. She took a moment to stare at him but with such a cold glance that it made Marshall shiver. _I can't figure out why she doesn't like me._

For some reason, Marshall couldn't help but wonder why Ember was so hostile to him. Ever since he met her, she had been acting rude and bossy while at the same time acting like she was better then everyone. Not that she didn't have the skills to back it up, but Marshall couldn't help but wonder why she was this way? _Does really want to be that Travis' guy's partner that bad?_

Marshall heard that this was some contest to help find a partner for the young man who everyone said was the hero of this town. Having seen him in action against that black magic user, he felt there was justification to it. Still, Marshall had no intention of leaving Ryder or his friends. They were his family and he already had an owner. _Still would be fun to fly in a suit like that of my own. Maybe something with wings…_

" _Firedogs! Prepare yourselves!"_ shouted the announcer which made Marshall snap out of it and hold his hose at the ready. _"Get set! Gooooo!"_

The first dummy flame appeared in the right corner of the top floor which Marshall aimed and fired at. He kept it on a power level that wasn't too strong but also not to weak. Too much strength and it would be harder to control while too little and it wouldn't get distance. He managed to get a bullseye target as a nearby counter score turned from "0" to "1".

"Got it!" shouted Marshall as he went for the next one which was in the window right below it; earning him a second point.

Time went on and he got more points, but soon two flames started to appear in different locations, followed by three. It was getting harder and harder and Marshall was pushing everything he had to get them. Sometimes, he had to skip a few just to get nearby ones and they would be forced back down with a miss.

Halfway through the time, Marshall had a total of forty-six points. However, that meant nothing as Ember had fifty-eight. The girl was a speed demon and a quick draw. If this was a gun shooting contest she'd be an Ace. Marshall, and a few others both in and out of the crowd, were amazed by how fast Ember was using her hose.

Not wanting to be outdone, Marshall did his best to pick up the pace.

Half an hour passed until time was up. Marshall groaned in pain as he rubbed his tired forelegs. He had never held a shooting hose that long in his entire life. _I feel like my arms are about to fall off._ Still, he had made a good score of seventy-eight points. He turned over to Ember and his draw dropped. _Ninety-one?!_

With a cocky grin, Ember received a full-on applause from the audience as she basked in the spotlight. The announcer was even saying she had beat her previous record from a different contest from last year. There was only one other dog ahead of Marshall by three points, but he still earned a good score of 8.0 as a final.

Ember walked past him as the announcer declared a prank and said to him. "Told ya. I'm going to win this."

Marshall didn't say anything, but then he smirked. _If she wants a contest. She'll get a contest._

"Oh, I'm not out yet, Ember. Act hot and almighty now, but when I'm done? You'll be cooled down."

* * *

Ember soon found out that Marshall indeed kept his word. Event after event, he always right behind her from the obstacle course to seeing who could escape from a burning building fast enough. Their points raised higher and higher, neck and neck, and everyone was cheering for them. After all, Ember was well known and famous around Costal City, yet Marshall had come out of nowhere and was a close even match for Ember.

Marshall was having the time of his life while each time he came close to pure victory, Ember was looking ready to scream. The final contest was going to be the big race. If Marshall could come up in first place, he would win the entire thing.

"Dude, you're on fire!" shouted Zuma as he handed Marshall a water bottle during the intervening break.

"Thanks!" said Marshall as he drank the whole thing in one gulp. "I can't believe I'm doing this well."

"You're kicking tail, bro," said Chase, giving him a wide smile. "You're one of the best firefighter dogs in Adventure Bay and maybe on the entire island. The only compition you got is that Ember girl."

"Yeah, I hope you beat her good," said Zuma, growling. "She looks so arrogant and jerkish."

"Come on, guys. That's no way to talk about someone," said Ryder, shaking his head as he rubbed Marshall's head. "You just keep doing your best, Marshall. Everyone in Adventure Bay is rooting for you."

Marshall nodded. "Then I'll be sure to win it for them."

"Excuse me!" said a female voice that made them turn around. A newscaster and her cameraman were heading towards them. "I was wondering if I could get an short interview with Marshall? He's been quite a sight here at this tournament and I was wondering if we could give the viewers some information about the new star."

"I guess, what do you guys think?" asked Marshall.

"Go for it!" said Rocky and Rubble at the same time.

* * *

" _This is Wendy Sanders, coming to you live from The National Firedog Contest in Costal City. I have an exclusive interview with the rising dog who has stunned audiences with not only keeping up with local favorite Ember, but has also become the most decorated rookie so far in this tournament's history,"_ replied a reporter on the tablet that Travis was watching from. He froze again upon seeing Marshall's smiling face appear on the screen. _"Marshall from Adventure Bay's local hero team, Paw Patrol, is with me right now. Tell me, Marshall, how does it feel to be here?"_

" _It feels great! I'm learning a lot and I'm putting my skills to the test. It's really helping me see what I need to improve and focus on in my training,"_ said Marshall.

 _He's sounds different… of course, it's been years. He's grown up,_ thought Travis with a small smile.

" _Are you, in anyway, worried about losing to Ember? She's still the favorite to win."_

" _Ember's very talented and I'm not worried about winning or losing. I just want to try my best and have a good time."_

"Such good sportsmanship," replied Rodrick, overhearing the broadcast. "If I remember correctly, you were always the one who hated losing. Especially to young Rachel when you were growing up."

Remembering all the times he got angry over losing to a "girl" at such a young age made Travis blush. "That was a long time ago…"

" _What inspired you to become a firedog in the first place?"_ asked the reporter.

" _Well, Ryder, my owner, found me along with Chase. They've been my family since. When Ryder told me of his dream of creating Paw Patrol I originally went along with it because I wanted to thank him for saving me and taking me in,"_ replied Marshall before he turned to his "family" and smiled. _"Now I'm doing it because I really want to help people."_

For a moment, Travis couldn't help but hate Ryder. He had spent more time with Marshall in the years since the incident then he did in his entire life. The way he spoke about the Paw Patrol as family when Travis _was_ his family cut deep. Real deep.

" _Are your parents watching back home in Adventure Bay? Are they proud of you?"_

Marshall hesitated for a while before he answered, _"I don't know. I never met my parents…"_

Travis's eyes widened. "W-what?!"

" _Oh, I'm sorry."_

" _It's okay,"_ replied Marshall, with a smile. _"I lost my memory a long time ago. I really don't know who I was before Ryder found me. If I had a family or not… if I did… or even do? I hope they are proud of me."_

Travis ended the live stream and just looked at Rodrick who was also staring at him with wide eyes as they stopped at a light. "He… He lost his memory… that's why…"

"… we need to hurry. Damn the speed limit and lights, Rodrick, I'll take responsibility," ordered Travis, gripping his hands.

Rodrick nodded and put the petal to the metal as he zoomed past the red light.


	18. Chapter 18

_**AN: Sorry this took so long. I've been having writers block for the past two weeks on… everything. Not in what's supposed to happen, just how to write it. Anyway, about Mission PAW? It was awesome! I loved the new gadgets and uniforms, plus Sweetie is a much better villain then Humdinger ever was. I hope we see more of her.**_

 _ **And like I have said I am planning to do a revision of the episode I my own way, but that won't be for some time. Need to work out the kinks and such, but expect me to give it the same effort as I gave Marshall Gone Missing.**_

 _ **So, let's go straight into the action.**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Three years ago, Doctor Lyra never would have expected she would get an offer to work for one of the most advance and well-funded companies in the world. Growing up with a scientist for an owner, Lyra had developed her own taste for the field and pushed forward since. When she was lucky, her owner would allow her to help but she never received the full credit in anything she did. It hurt that, in the end, all he ever saw in her was a dog and not a fellow scientist. To prove herself, she decided to use his resources to invent a special advance suit of dog armor that could withstand extreme heats, colds, and was even electric proof. Lyra thought he would be proud of her, but instead he was angry that his lab was used without permission and threatened to kick her out if she did that again.

Lyra thought that it was all over for her future science career. That was until an offer for her, and her alone, came from Lugna's Director who had seen her armor and wanted it mass produced under their name. They offered her a job, a salary, and a chance to be her own scientist with her own team.

She said yes almost as soon as he finished speaking on the phone. Her owner was pissed, but she didn't care. Last she heard, he had been caught stealing other people's work for his own. While there was no scientific proof of karma, Lyra was sure that was a sign it existed.

Working for Lugna Industries had been the best moment of her life. She still wished she could have gotten over her nervousness over being with people, but step-by-step as they say. Currently, she was looking over the Gabriel System in the main frame computer, checking for any bugs that might have happened since they just recently upgraded. It was amazing that the former Head of the Lugna family managed to create a program that could detect demonic and magical energy, but he was a genius that far out classed any modern scientist today. _I wish I could get a test sample of this demonic energy. I mean we're talking supernatural stuff here and I still can't believe its real. How different is it from the known energies that we have in the material world? What creates it? How does it affect the environment and are their subclasses of this energy?_

So preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice at first the glowing red button on the panel. The Golden Lab then pressed it and the screen changed to show something that made her eyes widen, tail droop, and a whimper to escape her throat. "Oh no…"

* * *

The final part of the race was about to begin and it was the one most were excited to see: The Firetruck Race. While most firetrucks were driven by humans, all firetrucks had a system that allowed it to change so that a dog could drive with a better steering, bark commands, and petals that reached their rear paws. The technology was created by Lugna Industries and was used all over the world. One of the qualifications for even being in the contest was having the skills and license to drive a firetruck.

Marshall had the distinct advantage of being the only one with his own firetruck that was designed for dogs only. While his was much smaller than the other vehicles, he had the advantage of size and speed. Plus, he had been driving his fire truck since he was a pup and knew how to handle her just right.

Since a dozen or so firetrucks going at a fast pace down the streets would be chaotic and dangerous, it was a one on one truck race between two randomly chosen dogs. They would travel on a single route from start to finish and the one with the quickest time would end up moving on to the next round until one remained. By luck or fate, Marshall ended up having to face Ember in his first heat and he would have to wait until their turn to go up.

Marshall and Rocky were looking at the final preparations of his fire truck when the former glanced at the dalmatian he would be racing against. She was ordering her fellow firefighters to change her tires, clean the windows and other demands that made it sound like she was a drill instructor. "She must really want to win."

"Well, considering the so-called prize is being Travis Lugna's chosen dog, I guess it makes sense," replied Rocky, tuning a bolt with his pack tools. "Almost these dogs want to be his partner."

"But why? I mean, if Travis Lugna faces demons and is supposed to protect the city from them, why does he need a dog?" asked Marshall. "Wouldn't a exorcist or something be better suited for that instead of a firedog? Even a police or military dog would make more sense."

"Heck if I know," said Rocky. "Maybe it's tradition."

"Hmmm," said Marshall as he got up and made his way to Ember, ignoring Rocky's calls for his name. The female dalmatian didn't notice him until he was just two feet away and turned around with an annoyed huff.

"What do you want?" She asked, but was quickly silent as her eyes widened when Marshall extended his paw out.

"I just want to wish you good luck at the race," replied Marshall with a bright smile.

Ember stared at the paw with some confusion and concern before looking at Marshall with a raised eyebrow. "What's your game?"

"Nothing, just a friendly paw shake," replied Marshall.

Silence continued between the two of them as Ember stood still, staring at the paw. Marshall was starting to wonder if she was ever going to shake when she finally raised her paw and shook it, but just for two seconds. Afterward, she turned around with her tail raised. "There. We shook. Now please leave me to get ready."

"Okay. Good luck!" said Marshall as he turned around and went back to his own vehicle. Rocky was looking at him with annoyance. "What?"

"Why would you shake paws with her? She's done nothing but insult you and act as if she was your superior in every way when your close to beating her by a few points?" he asked, leaning his shoulder against the fire truck.

"It's still a good thing to do," replied Marshall, smiling. "I still think that anyone who becomes a rescuer has some good I them. And she did shake my paw after all."

"For like one point two seconds," replied Rocky.

"Hey, a shake is a shake. Now is my truck ready?" asked Marshall, wagging his tail.

Rocky grinned and closed the hood. "She's all fired up."

* * *

At last, Marshall's heat was starting and his friends stood in the sidelines together as they and the crowd cheered for the next race. Both Marshall and Ember were in their respective firetrucks, ready to hit the petal to the metal. While Ember may have had the bigger firetruck that could be used to cut Marshall off and have a lead in length, Marshall had one that was small and faster. The lights for the racers started to blink as they waited for the green light.

"You can do it, Marshall!" shouted Ryder.

"Kick her ass!" shouted Zuma.

"Show them what we dogs from Adventure Bay are all about!" shouted Skye.

Marshall gave a nod and smile to his friends just as the light turned green. In an instant, both trucks rushed down the street, neck and neck, as the crowd cheered. "He's definitely going to win! I tuned that truck up myself!" shouted Rocky.

"We need to a place to celebrate if Marshall wins… or doesn't win. I just want to celebrate," replied Rubble as he watched the race from the big screen TV that was following the racers.

"You just want an excuse to eat good food," teased Chase with a chuckle. "But yeah, someplace to have dinner in honor of Marshall's victory, or effort, would be nice."

Ryder was about to say something when he heard people gasping and calling out someone's name. News crews were trying to surround someone and that someone was heading towards Ryder and his team. To his surprise, it was none other than Travis Lugna who was panting and looked tired in his efforts to rush over here. His butler was also with him, currently keeping people back from his master.

"Travis Lugna? What are you doing here?" asked Ryder as the dogs of Paw Patrol gazed at the human with surprise, although Rocky was in awe.

"I… I need to know… your dalmatian… Marshall… do you get him six years ago, June 24th or 25th?" asked Travis as he gasped.

Ryder blinked in surprise. "Y-yeah, how did…"

"That was the day… I lost my pup… my partner… my best friend… or so I thought." Taking a deep breath, he looked into Ryder's eyes with such a fire in them that Ryder stepped back a bit. "Marshall… he was a dalmatian named Marshall… that pup you found… he's mine… I'm Marshall's owner…"

" _ **WHAT?!"**_ shouted the entire Paw Patrol team


	19. Chapter 19

_**AN: Hello, everyone. I was going to start putting together my deviant art account this week like I promised, only work's given me a tough schedule to do for the next few days. I don't think I'll be able to get it fully ready until the end of the month at best. I can at least put the art work up next week and start the Choose Your Own Adventure story hopefully as well, but as for putting up all my fics like I wanted, I'm going to have to wait on that.**_

 _ **I also will be taking on another fic, or more accurately I will be adopting a fic called Dragon Rider by Amethyst Wereraven. It's an Amazing World of Gumball fic, which is a series I love and have been wanting to get into for a long time now. I thought the fic had a lot of potential and I want to give it a try. Does this mean it will hinder my efforts to write Paw Patrol? No. If things work out from work this week and next week, I think I can have more time to write. We'll see.**_

 _ **Also, why doesn't the princesses just get rid of Sweetie by this point? She cannot be worth this much trouble. Still, better villain then Humdinger.**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Everyone on the Paw Patrol team was just staring at Travis with wide mouths and open eyes. Not that they could be blamed since someone just rushed over here to tell you that your friend and teammate is supposed to be his dog after all. Finally, Zuma shook his head and held out his paws. "Woah! Woah! Woah! Hold the phone! Time out! You're _Mawshall's_ owner?! Like his _real_ owner?"

Travis nodded. "I know it sounds out of the blue, but do you really think I would rush all the way over to this stupid contest just to say this to you?"

"How the heck are we supposed to trust what you say?" growled Chase, eyeing him. "What proof do you have?! And if you are Marshall's owner, then where the heck have you been all this time?!"

"Chase, calm down. Let's let him explain," replied Ryder as he patted his dog on the head. He looked at Travis and asked, "Do you have proof?"

Going for his pocket, Travis pulled out his wallet and from there he pulled out a photo. The entire gang gathered to see it in Travis's hand and were shocked again. It showed a tall black-haired man with an handsome face dressed in a suit with a beautiful woman with red hair that extended blow her shoulders in a pure white dress with diamonds. Next to them were two adult declamations, one male and one female, with the male sporting a spot over his right eye and a scar on his cheek. He was nuzzled to what had to have been his mate, with gentle eyes and a flower in her ear. They were also dressed up in exact outfits like the humans, only dog sized and shape. Between them was a little boy and his dalmatian pup, the offspring of both these couples, both smiling as the pup hanged on the boy's shoulders with a familiar smile that they all knew.

"That's… Marshall…" whispered Skye in awe. The same smile, gentle eyes, and even the same spots on his body when he was a pup.

"I don't believe it…" whispered Rocky, stepping back and sitting down. "Marshall's owner is… Travis Lugna?"

"Wait, if that's Marshall, then does that mean those are his parents?" asked Rubble.

Travis nodded as he looked at the photo. "Axel, Marshall's father, was my dad's partner and best friend. Bella was his mother, a dalmatian Axel met in Hawaii. Beside them are my parents."

There was a long silence between the group as they looked at each other, and then at Ryder who was staring at Travis with a neutral expression. Ryder thought back to the day he and Chase first found Marshall, having spent weeks trying to find his owner. Now, years later, here they were and Ryder was unsure of what to feel.

"Where… where were you?" said Chase, glaring at Travis. "We spent weeks, months looking for you! Marshall cried every night since we found him until a full year past wondering who he was and where his family were! Where were you or his parents? Or anybody for that matter! Did you even look!"

" _ **Of course I looked!"**_ shouted Travis with such fury that it made all the dogs whimper and back away. "You have no idea how hard I looked! I spent every waking moment hoping that Marshall wasn't dead! I thought… I wanted my best friend in the whole world to be alive!" Travis covered one part of his face with his hand, trying to calm himself down. "I lost my parents… I lost Axel and Bella… all of them in the attack… I didn't want to lose my best friend…"

A hand placed itself on his back as Travis looked behind and saw Rodrick, with his caring eyes staring right at him. Travis took a deep breath and nodded. "Look, I'll answer every question you all have. I just… I just need to know… is it true? Did Marshall lose his memory?"

Ryder slowly nodded. "He couldn't remember anything."

"Then that explains everything…" whispered Travis with a sigh. "I thought… I thought he hated me… or was afraid to come home…"

"You know Master Marshall wouldn't do that to you, Master Travis," whispered Rodrick. "You were best friends."

"How can I… How do I approach him with this… I don't kn-" he was interrupted when his phone started ringing in a weird tone that got his attention. Grabbing it, he opened the call and answered, "What's gone on? Who is-"

" _This is Dr. Lyra, sir! Sorry, sir, but we have a problem! The Gabriel System is going through the roof! The Demonic Energy readings are off the chart, at least three times as the normal!"_

A panicked look appeared on Travis's face as he asked, "What's the number on the third counter to the right saying?"

" _Um, 7.9?"_

"Shit! It's one of them!" shouted Travis as he went for his tablet and started pressing buttons as fast as he could.

"One of who?" asked Ryder, sensing the panic.

"A demon…"

* * *

It was at that moment that an explosion was heard across the city and everything went to hell.

Marshall could feel the explosions impact from his seat and nearly drove off course when he felt it. People around him were already panicking and for good reason. Marshall looked at the direction the explosion was and what he saw made him nearly smack himself to see if he was seeing it correctly. It was a giant tower of inferno, roaring from what looked to be the other side of the city. The entire tower was as tall as a building, but as wide as a stadium with the flames spinning around like a tornado.

"How?" was all Marshall could mutter as he gazed upon the flaming spiral of death.

Suddenly, to make things even worse, the fire tower started shooting out fire balls which began to rain down upon the city, spreading fire everywhere. Entire districts were slowly being engulfed in flames and Marshall just sat in his truck with Ember having long been gone by this point to continue the race. Marshall stared at the raceway he was supposed to be on, but then stared at the fire storm and thought about all the lives lost or in danger of being lost.

It didn't take him long to decide. Hitting his lights and siren, Marshall put his paw to the petal and speed down the street of the direction of the fire storm. For some reason, maybe instinct, he felt like he had to head there out of all the places in town. It seemed like the most important for some reason. Linking his tag, Marshall called for Ryder. "Ryder! You there?"

" _Marshall?! Where are you?! There's a big-"_

"A big fire tornado that would make the one from Twister look like a gust of wind? Yeah, I've seen it and I'm already heading towards it! I'll link up with whatever firefighters are there and help combat it. There are miniature fires that are being caused by the… fireballs of this monster so you should get the Paw Patroller and use the spray cannon to help fight them off. I'll help handle the big guy and meet up with you!"

" _Understood, Marshall… but there's something you need to know… what? Are you sure?"_

Marshall raised an eyebrow. _What's going on?_

" _Um… never mind. You'll find out later. Me and the rest of the team are on their way, Ryder out!"_

Marshall sighed as he looked at the rising inferno that was like the gates of hell had opened. He had never done a rescue like this or handled a fire like this. But he was a rescue dog and he never gives up. _I'm ready for a ruff ruff rescue!_

* * *

Howling, he increased his speed and made his way downtown.

"Why didn't you want me to tell him you're his owner?" asked Ryder as he ended the call with Marshall.

"He needs to be focused right now," replied Travis, shaking his head. "Telling him this will only distract him. We need to handle this situation."

"How?!" shouted Zuma as he pointed to the tornado in disbelief. "That thing is huge! You'd need an act of God to stop it!"

"It's not real fire, or at least not moral fire," replied Travis, much to their confusion. "Look, you remember that fire that you handled the last time with the magic user? This is the same thing. That's demon fire. We stop the demon; all the fire will go away."

"How do we stop a demon?" asked Chase.

"Leave that to me. I've never faced one before, but I know how to fight them. This is my family's burden and I'm the only one who has the power to stop them," replied Travis as a glare overtook his eyes that made the entire team stand in awe at the amount of power he was displacing. "I need to get back to Lugna Tower and suit up. I knew I should have prepared the Long Range System sooner…"

"We'll give you a ride," replied Ryder as he activates his tablet. "Robo-Dog. Bring the Paw Patrol in Virtibird mode and get over here ASAP!"

After getting a confirmation bark, Ryder turned back to Travis and asked, "Look, I need to know, how do you fight demons. Maybe we can help."

"Guns and bullets will do nothing," replied Travis, shaking his head. "Not unless they've been blessed. Pretty much anything blessed will do damage, especially holy water."

"Oh, great. It's a bad time to mention I'm just now a former atheist? We're screwed," replied Chase, shaking his head. "And if the fire is anything like that one that we couldn't get out we're double screwed."

"Not necessary," replied Travis with a smirk. "If Marshall is right about you guys having a sprayer on the Paw Patroler, then we can fill it up with holy water we got stored back at my place. Do you also have guns on it?" Ryder nodded. "I got .50 cal's all made with brass from the Knights Templar's, we can use those on the demon if you run into it."

"I thought the Knights Templars were disbanded hundreds of years ago," replied Rocky.

"There's a lot of things that are around that you don't really know," replied Travis with a smirk.

"Anyway, when Robo-Dog gets here with the vehicles, we're going straight to work!" replied Ryder as the dogs all lined up in attention. "Skye, you're going to be our eyes in the air. Report everything you see to us on an open channel. Anyone who's in danger, any places that need help, the status of Marshall and the fire, all of that is on you."

"Let's take to the skies!" shouted Skye with a backflip.

"Chase and Zuma? You guys are going to keep the crowds calm and controlled. Help them get away from the danger and help anybody who needs it."

"Chase is on the case!"

"Let's dive in!"

"Rocky and Rubble? Get as close as you can to the inferno and start building a blockade around it if there isn't one already. Or help build up a blockade."

"Green means go!"

"Rubble on the double!"

"Do you all have catch phrases? Why?" asked Travis, raising an eyebrow which made the team blush.

"Uh, anyway. I'll be going with Travis and coordinating with you all in the Paw Patroller. Remember, if you see the demon, run and tell Travis so he can deal with it," replied Ryder. Just as soon as he finished, the group looked up to see the Paw Patroller in Virtibird mode arrive not too far from where they were as Police and other rescue groups started putting people back while news crews were capturing everything.

"Alright! Paw Patrol is on a roll!"


	20. Chapter 20

_**AN: So if you haven't learned yet, my DeviantArt Page is up. Just look up "HavocHounds" and you'll find me there. I already posted Marshall Gone Missing, some art work I commissioned, and a comic or two. Not the comic version of the fanfic I just mentioned, I might have somebody but I want us to work on some stuff first before we get to that.**_

 _ **You can also find my Choose Your Own Adventure with the Paw Patrol called "Dead On The Water" a horror themed one. It updates at least every three days and the current choice for voting is still up. You have to have an account to vote though.**_

 _ **Anyway, let's get to the story.**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

The demon had picked the perfect time to start his attack. Most of the nearby first respondents were still back at the contest trying to restore order to get ready to move out. Thanks to the Paw Patroller arriving in time, the dogs could suit up and drive out. Chase and Zuma had gone to work urging civilians to leave in an orderly fashion with Chase's megaphone and Zuma's directions towards the people. Skye was already above the air, reporting any accidents or problems they could help with.

More than once Chase had to use his crane to push a car enough to free a passenger trapped or Rubble had to use his bulldozer to push some debris to clear a path. Rocky was already reporting on finding some materials that could be used to build a blockade, but he needed help to build it which was Rubble call to head to Rocky. He also needed Zuma, but he wouldn't say why so the water dog just went to it.

"How do you think Rocky's going to stop that inferno?" asked Chase on his link to Skye while watching her lower a child into her mother's arms via strap jacket. They quickly thanked Skye before rushing off.

" _I don't know, but this is Rocky we're talking about. Remember that time he built that bomb using a soda bottle, some chemicals, and a helium balloon?"_

"Yeah, had my ears ringing for hours," replied Chase with a smirk before he turned to the inferno where Marshall was already reporting to be getting closer to it. He frowned upon thinking what he and the others learned not to long ago.

Marshall's owner was alive.

His real owner.

Chase had long assumed his owner was dead just like pretty much everyone else. While he still didn't fully trust Travis, it was clear that he did care about Marshall. _But it's been years… he's been with us. Our family._

Marshall had often told him when they were young he wanted nothing more than to remember who he was and if he had any parents. He wondered how the young dalmatian would take it? _Would… would he leave us?_

"… _thinking about Marshall?"_ asked Skye on the other line. _"It's kinda obvious by your silence."_

He sighed, thinking about the one who had been his first friend ever besides Ryder. "I'm just… I'm afraid of him leaving us."

" _Chase, I don't think Marshall will leave us. Travis might have been his family for eight years of his life, but we've been his family for the rest of it. He's not going to just walk away and leave us behind, you should know him better than that,"_ replied Skye.

Before Chase could answer, Marshall contacted them on the radio. "Skye, Chase?! I'm getting closer to the fire tornado. Think you can provide me back up?"

"We're on our way!" shouted Chase as he put his paw to the metal.

* * *

If you were to ask Marshall what it was that he would wake up to do today the answer of "preparing to fight a massive fire tornado of death" wouldn't be on the list. In all honestly, he was ready to wet himself upon seeing how big and dangerous it was, but held it in out pure fear. The heat of the flames was intense and the fact it was occasionally throwing a fireball to two only added more weight to the side of his brain that was telling to run like hell.

However, the sound of fearful cries from innocent civilians made him fight his fear and drive on. He didn't have a plan and there was a good chance he would have a tombstone at the Lookout sometime next week, but he was still going forward. He stopped about a mile away from the tornado which was slowly melting all that was around it. Most of it was clear of civilians, but there were burned corpses everywhere with a stench so strong that Marshall summoned his oxygen mask to deal with it.

"Okay, I made it. Now what do I do?" asked Marshall, looking at the big fire storm. "No way simple water is going to deal with this thing. Most likely magical too."

He began to look around until he started to hear moaning. His ears perked up as it started to get louder. Was somebody alive? He looked around and soon saw a severely burned corpse move. Barking, he got out of his fire truck and headed straight for the body. "Mister? Hey, Mister! Don't move! I'll get help!"

The burned man only moaned.

"Sir, you're injured with third degree burns, you need to-" Instincts suddenly told Marshall to jump back and he did so without knowing it. He was just barely able to avoid getting hit by a fist trying to slam into his face. He gasped as the body soon got up, revealing half of it torn apart with the skin melted and the bones showing as black as ash. There was no way this person was alive… but how were they moving?

Soon more moaning began to spread around him and Marshall looked around to find the burned bodies slowly rising up, acting as if they were… they were…

"Zombies…" whispered Marshall as he began to whimper. One of them dived for him, but he quickly rolled away and let it land on its face. He couldn't touch them, not while they were burned so Pup-Fu was out. Thankfully, there were other options. "Water Cannons!" The twin barrel cannons showed themselves and, with a quick bark, blasted at full power. The burned zombies were blown off their feet and into a mess as they were shot with blast after blast. Some of them had their limbs or heads ripped apart on account of how weak their skin and muscles were.

Marshall had to remind himself they were already dead to prevent his breakfast coming up. Using his cannon, he forced himself through the undead before making his way towards his firetruck. However, before he could jump in, something smacked him across the chest and sent him flying towards the pavement. Groaning as he struggled to get up, Marshall gasped as the zombies began to close in on him with their jaws wide open.

"Marshall! Get down!" shouted a familiar voice and the dally proceeded to do so.

Machine gun fire echoed across the air as bullets entered the burned flesh of the dead and torn them apart. Once he had clear breathing room, he got up and rushed back to his truck, turning it on, and using it as a ram against the other zombies.

Between the bullets and ramming it took them about six minutes to clear the area. Sighing in relief, Marshall turned to Chase who drove up to him with a pale white face. "Thanks for the backup, Chase."

"Marshall, what the hell were these things?!" cried out Chase.

"Zombies?" asked Marshall, shrugging.

Chase opened his mouth and then closed it. Rolling his eyes in frustration, he replied, "Sure, why not? Magic. Demons. Zombies. I'm not surprised by anything anymore."

Marshall chuckled before contacting Ryder.

* * *

"… I understand, thanks Marshall!" replied Ryder as he turned off his pad. He turned to the Paw Patrol which was being filled up with holy water from a pump while assistants replaced the bullets with the special ones that Travis was giving them. They were on top of Lugna Tower and even from here they could see the inferno. "It's like he's prepared for a war."

" _You're right about that,"_ replied Travis coming from above in his Navan Armor Suit. _"I've been preparing for this ever since my parents died. This… this is finally the start of that war."_

"Sir! Everything is prepped and ready!" shouted the head engineer.

" _Good, make sure to stand by incase I need anything. Have Dr. Lyra see if she can fix the homing range system for Marshall's suit,"_ replied Travis.

"Marshall's suit?" asked Ryder.

" _You didn't think this was the only one, right?"_ replied Travis who took off into the air before Ryder could question anything.

" _Ryder! Come in, Ryder!"_ called out Skye.

"Go ahead, Skye," replied Ryder as he turned on his pad, showing Skye's terrified face.

" _Ryder… I think I found the demon…I went up high in the air to see what was behind the fire and… well… see for yourself…"_

The video then showed a feed on Skye's Helicopter Camera and Ryder nearly dropped his pad in shocked. On the tallest building in the middle of the area that was burning like hell had come to play, was what had to be the most horrible creature Ryder had ever seen in his life. Ryder had also been sort of a person who had been agnostic for the most part. Things that were supernatural existed, but you had to prove it to him to get him to admit they were real.

Now there was no denying it anymore. Something like this… was really a demon.

It looked human, but like entirely made of burned flesh and embers while standing at huge six and half feet tall as it seemed to emanate heat and was ignoring the fire that surrounded it. It's human like face held no mouth or nose but four eyes, two big and two small ones, that seemed to hold fire inside of its eyelids. It's bat like and hole filled ears flapped while it raised something that made Marshall's skin crawl. A scythe. A scythe made from burned human flesh. And it was glowing with fire.

" _That's him!"_ shouted Marshall on the line, seeing the feed from his dog tag.

"Who is it?" asked Ryder.

" _That's the demon that I saw in that fire in Adventure Bay!"_


	21. Chapter 21

_**AN: We're back. I'm so sorry for the hiatus you guys, but I needed to sacrifice one story for awhile so I could concentrate on my new job and this one was it. But here it is, Partners Under Fire. A lot of people have been asking me to continue this and I'm very surprised by that. I don't update this as often as I do, but I guess that's what a loyal fanbase is.**_

 _ **Not a long chapter for the return, but I'm a little rusty with this. I may need to read it the whole thing a few times to get the full flow back.**_

 _ **Anyway, let's get to the story.**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Paw Patrol_**

* * *

Chase and Marshall could see the demon from the visual screens coming from their dog tags. Marshall had all but turned white upon seeing the demon that had nearly killed him days ago in that fire. Chase was looking just as scared, seeing something so… evil had made him wonder just how you could stop such a thing that looked so powerful.

" _You guys, Travis is on his way to deal with the demon. I'm heading over with the Paw Patroller in Vertibird mode to help deal with the fire,"_ replied Ryder on their tags. _"Stay safe until we're there."_

Just as the call ended, fireball started to come down upon them from above. "Easier said then done!" shouted Chase as he and Marshall separated while a fiery explosion went up where they were. The two began to dodge the oncoming fireballs by zipping around, jumping and flipping when they had too.

"Hey, Chase! This is kinda like that dodgeball tournament we had to face Mayor Humdinger and his cats in, huh?" replied Marshall, backflipping onto the pavement to avoid another fireball.

"Yeah, only if you get hit your out for good. YEOW!" shouted Chase as the flames of a missed ball of fire scorched his tail. "Ugh, I think I'll avoid campfires for a long time if we survive this."

Marshall was about to run for new cover when he suddenly tripped and rolled towards his fire truck before smashing into it. "Ugh, why now?" he moaned as he got up but gasped upon seeing a fireball heading straight for him.

"Marshall!" shouted Chase as he watched with horror as his friend was about to be burned like bad bacon.

Closing his eyes, Marshall waited for the end, but instead he felt a warm glow emanating from within. His lucky pendant began to shine green as he opened his eyes to find it shaking and getting warmer. Just as the fireball was about to strike, a green energy shield surrounded Marshall that ended up blocking the fireball as it burst upon contact. Yet, the shield held, and Marshall was unharmed.

"Woah… am I Green Lantern?" asked Marshall, tilting his head as the shield soon disappeared.

"I think it came from your pendant," replied Chase.

"How did that happen? Wh-what is this thing?" asked Marshall, now looking at it carefully. "Is it magic?"

"Travis would most likely know," replied Chase.

"Travis? Why would he?" asked Marshall.

Chase was about to answer when he suddenly their tags kicked in. " _Hey, guys! This is Rocky. We're coming at you right now. I think we got a solution on how to get into the tornado."_

"Really? What is it?" asked Marshall.

" _Look to your left and you'll see!"_

The two turned around only to have their eyes widen at the sight. Rocky was manually driving what looked to be a big oxygen tank with Zuma's hovercar propeller blades on top that were hooked to a giant vacuum looking tube that connected to the big tank. Rubble was right behind it with Zuma, who was taking the passenger seat.

Stopping in front of the other two, Rocky got out and presented his invention. "What do you think? I had to spend fourty minutes rigging it all up."

"It's impressive, but what is it?" asked Marshall.

"This thing is an oxygen sucker," replied Rocky with a smirk. "Fire needs oxygen to exist, and I'm betting that same rule of logic applies even on magical fire. Using Zuma's hovercraft propeller blades in reverse, plus a few modifications, I've made it so that it can suck oxygen in front of it, storing it in the tank. Without the oxygen, we should crate an opening for us to enter, but only enough for a small group.

"There isn't any fire on the other side to burn us?" asked Chase.

"According to Skye, not a thing. Looks like its just that circle wall of fire, dudes," replied Zuma, jumping off.

"If only a small team can go in, then Marshall, Rubble and I should go. Rocky and Zuma, you stay here and keep the sucker ready incase we need an exit plan," ordered Chase, looking up in the air as he saw the Paw Patroller sailing nearby, as well as a familiar set of armor that was flying right next to it like Iron Man. "Looks like Ryder and Travis arrived as well."

"Man, Marshall. I wonder if you'll get a suit of your own that can fly too," said Rubble with awe as he looked up.

"What do you mean?" asked Marshall.

"Let's just focus on the mission," replied Chase as he activated his tag. "Ryder, sir. Me and Marshall will be heading in with you. We got a plan that, hopefully, will get us inside."

" _Roger that, Chase. We'll meet you inside,"_ replied Ryder.

" _Chase, I'm getting radio chatter that states the firefighters and police are on their way. I'll guide them over and keep you guys posted on what's going on out here. Be careful!"_ replied Skye on the line.

"Will do, over and out," replied Chase before he ended the call. Turning to Rocky, he said, "Better turn it on, Rocky. We're low on time."

"First you should get some oxygen masks from Marshall's truck. Not only is this thing going to suck air out of area, but you'll also be facing a fire demon who's bound to try and choke you in other ways," pointed out Rocky.

"Good thinking! I'll get them!" replied Marshall before returning with a mask for everyone.

Once the were all well protected, Rocky went back into the truck and activated it. The spinning blade on top started slow at first, but then started to pick up speed.

Slowly, air was being sucked all around them at a fast pace along with dirt, some trash, and ashes from the burned corpses. The dogs watched as the flames started to flicker towards the giant fans as well, slowly being sucked into them while dying due to the lack of oxygen. Much to the amazement of the dogs, and smug look of Rocky, there was a small entrance way beginning to form from the fire splitting up, big enough for their vehicles to go through.

"Oh yeah! Science one, evil magic zero!" shouted Rocky, howling with pride.

"Let's not waste any time! Paw Patrol, move out!" shouted Chase as he and Marshall got into their respective vehicles. The two of them, plus Rubble, drove quickly though the small entrance just before the fires managed to grow stronger and seal it up.

Turning the fans off, Rocky turned to Zuma and asked, "Think they'll be okay?"

"Please, dude. If anybody can handle this, it's our friends," said Zuma with a gulp. "I hope."

* * *

Ryder rode in the passenger seat with Robodog driving the flying Paw Patroller towards the fire tornado. Flying beside them was Travis in his Navan Armor Suit. It made Ryder wonder if he should rethink the idea of the Air Patrol suits and packs he had planed for a long time ago, one where each of his dogs, and himself, would have the means to fly with super speed. For some reason, no major emergency where they were needed came up, unlike the MISSION PAW gear or the Sea Patrol gear so he put them aside.

Now seeing all this made him make a note to repursue it. _Plus, it's been awhile since the gang got new training._

" _Ryder, I'm going to head straight for the demon. Focus on the tornado to keep it from spreading further into the city,"_ replied Travis on the radio channel they were sharing.

"Roger, Travis. Good luck!" cried out Ryder before turning to the mechanical canine. "Let's water this town, Robodog!"

" _Arff! Arff!"_ replied Robodog as he pressed a few buttons.

From the bottom of the Paw Patroller, a giant-sized hose came out and began to aim at the fire. With its auto detection system for intense heat, it was able to home in and plan a coordinated spraying motion to get rid of the fire. At full power, the hose began to unleash its load of holy water, and the effects were immediate.

Ryder watched in awe as he fires seemed to be, for the lack of a better word, retreating from the holy water that was dousing it. Small shrieks that sounded like the cries of the damned could be heard even from high above as the fire's hot glow began to seep away. Flying in the circle formation they had planned, he could see the fires of the demon that spawned them stopping cold from their advancement and even retreating as its flames began to lower.

 _And normal water wouldn't have done anything…_ thought Ryder, fearing what would happen if such an event happened in Adventure Bay. Having been agnostic most of his life, Ryder tended to shy away from things supernatural unless there was a need for it. Seeing things such as the merpups, magical tombs, and ancient curses made him occasionally delve into them in study, but nothing in any serious religious nature. _Guess I'm going to have to read a few new books when we get home._

Not to mention the gear he was going to have to create for this…

He looked down in the smoking ruins where his dogs were, heading for the demon's location to see if they could be of assistance to Travis. _Be safe you guys._


End file.
